Guide on Swinux

Getting Started With Linux: The Beginner's Brief

Wed, 27 May 2026 12:30:00 +1000

There’s been a lot of fuss about Linux in the past couple of months (and years), and it hasn’t exactly come from nowhere. A huge cultural shift has taken place due to the perceived lack of control over the devices we own and use everyday.

Companies such as Microsoft are now seen by some, whether accurately or not, as prioritising their interests to the extreme over the consumer. This has meant the desire for an alternative platform for desktop computing has been slowly growing, and all the while Linux has been making strides to provide a better and better experience for users.

Contents

Some Context and History

So, you’ve just heard about Linux and want to know more about what it is and what it can do for you. Let’s start with a bit of context and a Cliff Notes version of Linux’s history.

Linux itself is a kernel, used as the medium to communicate between the hardware and software layers of your computer. Since it’s inception people have contributed and built software on top of the Linux kernel to provide the other needs of a desktop experience such as filesystems, audio management and much much more. The combination of this software and the Linux kernel is colloquially known as Linux for simplicities sake.

Linux began as a project built by Linus Torvalds in 1991 as a hobbyist project. He eventually released it to the public and subsequently others improved and built upon his work. Alongside other key contributors, he has spent the subsequent years as a steward of the Linux kernel to help guide the direction of the project. The key point here is that the code behind Linux is available to anyone to share, modify and use.

You can now find Linux everywhere, from Android smartphones, point-of-sale machines, smart devices to servers that power the cloud. At some point you or your device has interacted with a Linux system, perhaps without you even knowing it.

A Google Pixel running Android, a Linux derived operating system.

Why Should I Use Linux?

As mentioned before, one of the most significant draws to Linux is the control. You can choose to let the operating system (OS) handle everything for you, or you can decide how you want to customise the desktop, what specific version to run, how much storage to allocate where, the list goes on and on.

Another large yet often understated reason is that Linux will often have more user-centric defaults than other operating systems. This eases the friction of migrating and also avoids intermittent annoyances that you find in other solutions, such as immediate reboots, clingy web browsers or forced online backups. Although you will inevitably run into minor issues with Linux (no OS is perfect), they will often be one-and-done issues that are easy to fix with a quick online search.

Linux also provides a safe haven against spyware, adware and other potentially malicious activities that would run on other operating systems but can’t on Linux. In addition, Linux can feature more sane defaults for security, meaning that most apps work securely out of the box without having to allow permissions or go down rabbit holes. It must be noted however that although Linux on desktop is absent of most malware, with the uptick in adoption this may change in the future.

How Can I Install Linux?

There’s three main ways you can use Linux, but only the first two are particularly usable in day-to-day situations, dual-booting and standalone Linux. Before you jump in, make sure to keep backups of your data (you should be doing this anyway!) as you don’t want to lose it.

Dual-Boot

The first, and most versatile option is to install Linux alongside your existing Windows installation. Granted you have enough storage to share two operating systems, when you power on your computer, you can choose what operating system you want to launch. It’s often useful if you want to keep Windows for apps that can’t run on Linux such as games like Valorant, a game which requires full access to your computer for you to play.

Standalone

When you run Linux on it’s own you forgo Windows, replacing your drive in it’s entirety with Linux. This is the simplest option, but is the most irreversable of the three. Before you make this step, you should have an idea of what software you already use, and potential alternatives if they do not already exist on Linux.

Virtualised

Virtualised Linux runs on your machine on top of the operating system you already use. This makes it easy to test different versions of Linux, or experiment with and break the system without causing damage or changing your host operating system. However, you need to set up a virtual environment using software such as QEMU or VirtualBox. In addition, virtual machines often lack graphically accelerated environments, which can mean that games and browsers can appear slow or non-responsive.

What’s a Desktop Environment?

The GNOME Desktop Environment with the Files app open.

A desktop environment provides the tools and programs you need to interface with the operating system, run apps and play games in a graphical format. Because users have different requirements and preferences with how they use their computer and how information is presented to them, several desktop environments exist to cater to these specific needs. If you’re on Windows, KDE is the biggest analogue, providing a similar layout to the default Windows environment. MacOS users may find that GNOME is similar to their preferences.

KDE

KDE is a desktop environment that embraces customisation and openness. Although it’s default layout is quite similar to that of Windows, you can significantly change how information is accessed and displayed to the user, a process called ricing.

GNOME

GNOME is an environment which can be described as highly specific with how it presents information to the user. It’s most similar analogue is to MacOS, and it likes to keep it’s desktop decluttered. Pressing the Windows key gives you a powerful search tool and access to your apps. You can extend the functionality of GNOME through extensions, which add and modify widgets and formats to provide more information.

XFCE

XFCE is notable for it’s simplicity and low resource usage. If you’ve got an old laptop struggling with heavier operating systems and desktop environments, XFCE is a perfect choice to revitalise it and give it a new lease on life.

Anything Else?

There are countless other desktop environments for you to use and explore, some which may fill your niche better than any other environment. You can even move away from desktop environments to tiling window mangers which automatically organise your windows neatly. The choice is yours.

What’s a Distro (Distribution), and Which Do I Pick?

Logos of several Linux distributions.

There are a million (or possibly more) versions of Linux that you can use. These are known as distros, or distributions, and each distro bundles a collection of software including the kernel, Linux, desktop environment and other pre-installed applications and tools for you to use.

Ultimately, your choice to use a certain distro will be dictated by three major aspects:

What desktop environment the distribution supports. Some distros support multiple, or others have many but actively support a handful.
How recent the software versions used by the distro are. Some distros are bleeding-edge, meaning you get the latest features and performance improvements. Other distros are stable, meaning they prefer a more consistent user experience over always having the latest improvements.
What customisation the distro uses. Some distros don’t apply much customisation on top of the desktop environment, but others can theme or completely reinvent a desktop environment into something completely different.

Some examples of notable distributions can be seen below, and give you an idea of what differences exist.

Fedora Silverblue/Kinoite

Fedora Silverblue and Kinoite are immutable distros based on GNOME and KDE respectively. This immmutability means that the Silverblue and Kinoite distros are not readily modifiable by the end user, and it keeps several versions of the operating system available. This is akin to how Android operates, making sure that a usable operating system is always ready no matter what issues occur or are induced by the user. You can think of it as idiot-proof (and we’re all idiots sometimes).

CachyOS

CachyOS is a distribution based on Arch Linux, a bleeding-edge (constantly using the newest versions of software) Linux variant. It’s configured for performance in games, but you can choose what desktop environment you want to use. It’s primarily a community effort and is an excellent choice if you almost exclusively use your computer for gaming. However, new Linux users may want something more stable.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is the legacy choice as a distro. It uses GNOME by default, although other supported desktop environments exist. It’s one of the oldest commercially supported operating systems, although it’s somewhat fallen out of favour for other distributions which provide newer or better software choices and more reliability. It has a substantial catalogue of forum posts for guidance and advice.

Yet Another Distro

More often than not, you’ll see other distros that have features or a fancy look that grabs your attention. Before you jump in though it’s a good idea to see how other people feel using the distro. If there’s large swathes of people commenting chances are it’s well supported and should be into the future.

How do I Use Linux?

By this point in the article, you should have a decent understanding of the ecosystem before you jump in. There’s a lot of choice involved and it’s understandable to get analysis paralysis, but nothing beats choosing a good-enough distro and jumping straight in. For the most part, you’ll be using and learning it like you would any other program, and given enough time you’ll figure it all out.

However, there’ll be times when you’ll realise that there’s several significant changes to how Linux works, especially if you’re coming from Windows. Let’s discuss the major ones.

The Filesystem

Terminal showing directories in the root partition.

If you’ve used a MacOS system before you’ll realise how similar the filesystem is. That’s because they’re UNIX-like, both based on an ancestor operating system that shares a similar filesystem structure. At the heart of the Linux filesystem is the root directory (/), the point from which all directories (also known as folders, broadly interchangeable terms) are placed or stem from, sort of like the C:\ folder in Windows.

From the root directory, there are several different directories with different functions and uses. However, you won’t need to use or interact with all of them. Some important ones are listed below:

/home

This directory is where all the user’s personal data is stored, under their own directories named after their usernames. You’ll find directories such as Documents, Videos, Music etc. in this directory and all of your per-user configuration files are stored here.

/etc

The /etc directory stores configuration files for application specific system-wide configurations. Always be careful before changing these, as you may end up with an unbootable system!

/bin

This is where your app binaries are stored, such as your web browser. You can think of it like a dedicated space for your .exe files on Windows.

/media and /mnt

The /media directory is most often used for removable media, such as USB drives or microSD cards. On the other hand, /mnt is used to mount secondary persistent drives such as an internal hard-drive to expand the storage of your main drive where the root directory lives.

There are a multitude of other important directories serving different functions, but like most listed above, you have little need to interact with them outside of your /home directory.

The Terminal

A screenshot of the Ptyxis terminal on CachyOS.

The Linux terminal can often seem an oppressive or daunting barrier to entry to Linux. Your experience with it, however, all depends on how you approach it. When you think of it as a way to dictate tasks for the computer to conduct, it’s very much akin to how you use an operating system already, such as when you move files from one folder to another.

On some distros you can go without using the terminal at all as they provide other means to download software or edit files, for example. You can however use it to run programs and apps, create, move and delete files and much more, just by using your keyboard. Let’s explore some basic commands:

The cd Command

cd

This command, when combined with a path relocates your terminal’s current working directory (the directory/folder you have open) to the path specified in the command.

cd ~/Documents

Will relocate your terminal to your user’s Documents folder. The ~/ specifies the path is relative to your /home directory, meaning any directory after ~/ should exist in your /home directory. Documents refers to the Documents directory in your home folder.

You can also use absolute paths (paths that start from the root directory), such as the following:

cd /var/lib

This is three directories deep, starting at the root directory, then usr, and then etc.

Another relative path you might need is exiting a directory and moving to it’s parent directory. If you’re stuck in /var/lib and you want to get back to /var, you can issue the following:

cd ../

Which will send you back one directory. The full stop is also relative, with one sending you to the current directory, and three sending you back two directories, if possible.

cd ./

Will keep you where you are, in /var/lib.

cd .../

Will send you back to the root directory from /var/lib.

The ls Command

ls

This command lists all of the files and directories in your current working directory. It’s simple, but you can use what are called arguments to modify how the command works. For example:

ls -l

Will provide you with information about the file or directory, such as when it was created, what user owns it and what file permissions exist.

Ultimately, there are a plethora of Linux commands out there for all sorts of use cases but be sure to check what it does first before you run it. Plenty of users, myself included, have ran commands without understanding how it’ll impact their system and paid the price for it. You don’t need to be an expert, but knowing just enough can keep you out of trouble.

The Package Manager

The final major piece of the Linux puzzle is the package manager. Instead of downloading your programs and apps from the internet, you download a package (a program) from a central location, called a repository. You can think of it like buying items from several stores versus going to a warehouse to get them all at once. This is a more modern, convenient and safer method of installing software.

However, different distros can use different package managers. Almost all of the time they operate in the same way, grabbing updates or new packages for your system to install and use. They can instead use different commands to accomplish the same tasks. For example, on a Debian or Ubuntu system you may type the command sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade which checks if new packages exist, and download and install them if so. CachyOS might use pacman -Syu, which accomplishes the same thing.

On most beginner friendly distros, you may not need to interact with the package manager at all outside of hitting the ‘update’ button in your software manager app.

When you’re using a new operating system, it can be overwhelming to get started and know where things are. Here are some prepared learning resources of varying types and formats to get you started.

The Arch Wiki

The Arch wiki is an excellent wiki resource to learn about specific programs and services used in Linux and it’s distributions. It provides some advice on recommended configurations as well as system maintenance and configuration guidance.

It’s useful for advanced users going off the beaten path, and will become an incredibly useful resource once you’ve mastered the basics. Note that their package installation commands will reference pacman, Arch Linux’s package manager. Yours might be different.

YouTube

Linus Tech Tips is an accessible and popular YouTube channel which talks about computers. Videos can explain how to install Linux or what distro to pick. Likewise Explaining Computers gives an excellent breakdown of what to look for when picking a distro, and some reccomendations.

Forums

Reddit forums can often be a great communal resource for troubleshooting and general guidance.The Swinux Discord is always a good place to ask fellow students. In addition, Stackoverflow is a good resource with tons of user contributions.

Using AI

If you’re keen on AI, it can be a good resource to bounce ideas off of and guide you through simple troubleshooting steps. As always, verify with another source as AI can hallucinate or provide inappropriate advice for your situation.

This post is redistributed from timfo.xyz with permission from the author.

Python Workshop Resource & Installation Guide

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +1000

Have you ever wanted to learn how to code? This article explains the basics to get you started on your coding journey with Python. This will get you to a point where you can follow along with the workshop.

If you haven’t yet, join our club and our discord! This will allow you to chat with other Swinburne students interested in Computer Science, who will be happy to give you all sorts of tips and tricks as well as help if you’re stuck.

Setting Up Your Computer

First, we need to establish some terms so you know what we’re talking about:

Console/Terminal/CMD: This is what we use to run our programs. It’s simple and it’s entirely text-based (like the hackery things you see in the movies) but it means you can type exactly what you want, and your computer will do it. It may seem daunting, but you will get used to it quick smart.
Program/App: This is what you will run in the console, which will execute (run) your code, giving you an output. In the workshop, it will be saved as a single .py file. You can have multiple files but you will only run one at a time.
Directory/Folder: This is the layout of where files on your computer are stored. A Directory can be a single folder, or many folders together to point to a specific area where files are stored.
Operating System (OS): There are three major Operating Systems, Windows, Mac and Linux. Each one may have a different way of setting things up. Where they are different, we will write specific instructions for you to follow.

Before we even start coding you’ll need to install Python. It’s an accessible and readable programming language developed in 1991. You’ll find out exactly why it’s so accessible and readable soon.

Installing Python on Windows

Official Windows Python Install Guide: https://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html

If you’re on a regular x64 laptop (Almost everyone) visit https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-3137 and install the Windows Installer (64-bit) program.

If you’re using a Snapdragon laptop, visit the above link and install the Windows Installer (ARM64) program.

Scroll down the page a bit until you see something similar to the image below. Remember what platform you’re on and download the appropriate file.

Wait for the file to download. Once it’s download it should look something like this:

Navigate to your downloads folder and double click on python-3.13.7-amd64.exe or python-3.13.7-arm64.exe (Depending on what you downloaded) to run the installer:

Click the ‘Install Now’ button and wait for Python to install itself. Once you reach the ‘Setup was successful’ screen, exit the program.

Press the Windows button on your keyboard and type cmd. An app called Command Prompt will appear. Open Command Prompt.

At this stage, your desktop should look similar to the image above. This is what you will use to run the Python programs we create in the workshop. For now, set it aside and move on to the ‘Your First Program’ section. If you face any issues, use the Official Windows Python Install Guide.

Click here to jump to the next section.

Installing Python on Mac

Official MacOS Python Install Guide: https://docs.python.org/3/using/mac.html

To download the Python installer, navigate to https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-3137 and look for the macOS 64-bit universal2 installer and download it, seen below.

Make sure this is the file you download:

Once it has downloaded, double click on the file to launch the installer:

Navigate through the launcher to install Python:

Once that is complete, Python is installed and you should see the following prompt:

However, you now need to install a certificate to allow Python to work correctly.

Navigate to the Applications/Python 3.13/ directory to view the following contents:

Double clicking on the .command file will allow Python to run correctly. You should be able to see the following prompt within a terminal window:

When this is complete, you can open the terminal app. If you type the below command and press enter, you should see Python and it’s version number.

python --version

At this stage, Python should be installed correctly. This is what you will use to run the Python programs we create in the workshop. For now, set it aside and move on to the ‘Your First Program’ section. If you face any issues, use the Official MacOS Python Install Guide.

Click here to jump to the next section.

Installing Python on Linux

Look at you. You’re already using Linux, you shouldn’t need to be told how to install Python. You probably already have it installed out-of-the-box.

If you really want to install it again, open the console and type the following, depending on your distribution:

Debian-Based Distributions sudo apt install python

Fedora-Based Distributions sudo dnf install python

Arch-Based Distributions sudo pacman -S python

Nix/Gentoo-Based Distributions Have fun.

Click here to jump to the next section.

Using Windows to run Python code

Once you’ve got python installed, you can verify that it is in fact ready to run by using the following command in the console:

For Windows:

py --version

It should print Python 3.XX.X to the screen, with X being the specific version numbers of the program.

You can now create your first application using your favourite text editor (such as notepad+++ on Windows).

To keep your disk nice and clean, we reccomend creating a seperate folder just for Python files. On all Operating Systems, create a folder called Python in your Documents folder.

Name it myfirstprogram, as it’s the first program you’ve ever made! Make sure not to append .txt to the file, as Python will not be able to find and run it. You need to append .py to the file so Python will recognise it as a Python program that can be used.

Once you’re ready to edit the file, add the following:

Save the file, and get ready to run the program. Using the console, navigate to the folder/directory where the python file was saved.

On Windows, you can do the following (Keep in mind the folders must exist, and your Python file should exist in that folder/directory):

cd "C:\Users\yourusername\Documents\Python"

Once you’ve done that, you should be in the correct folder. Run the command below:

py myfirstprogram

You should have seen a 9 get printed to the console on your screen. That means that you’ve just ran your first program!

If you don’t see that, make sure you’ve got Python installed and that you’ve copied the code exactly, otherwise it may not run as you’d expect. Python is pretty good with telling you exactly what went wrong and where it happened, but it won’t necessarily tell you how to fix it. This is where the resources section below will help you with your understanding.

At this point, you are ready for the workshop. Please follow along with the coding examples during the workshop to get the most out of it, either on your device or via the slides.

Workshop Resources

Using Mac/Linux to run Python code

Once you’ve got python installed, you can verify that it is in fact ready to run by using the following command in the console:

For Mac/Linux (Linux example provided):

python --version

You can now create your first application using your favourite text editor (such as notepad+++ on Windows).

To keep your disk nice and clean, we reccomend creating a seperate folder just for Python files. On all Operating Systems, create a folder called Python in your Documents folder.

Name it myfirstprogram.py, as it’s the first program you’ve ever made! Make sure not to append .txt to the file, as Python will not be able to find and run it. You need to append .py to the file so Python will recognise it as a Python program that can be used.

Once you’re ready to edit the file, add the following:

Save the file, and get ready to run the program. Using the console, navigate to the folder/directory where the python file was saved.

On Mac/Linux, you can do the following (Keep in mind the folders must exist, and your Python file should exist in that folder/directory):

cd ~/Documents/Python

Once you’ve done that, you should be in the correct folder. Run the command below:

python myfirstprogram.py

You should have seen a 9 get printed to the console on your screen. That means that you’ve just ran your first program!

At this point, you are ready for the workshop. Please follow along with the coding examples during the workshop to get the most out of it, either on your device or via the slides.

Workshop Resources

Resources

Below are links for the workshop, including slides and full code examples:

We’ve prepared some resources for you which may assist you in learning how to program. Some of these resources focus on other programming languages, but the principles are useful and may give you some ideas of projects to attempt.

W3Schools, A collection of resources for learning Python, alongside other languages. Features a browser-based interactive code editor.
Pip, A Python library package manager to install libraries for use in your programs.
The Coding Train, an enthusiastic programming teacher that builds and explains creative and interesting projects.
FreeCodeCamp.org, an organisation providing lecture-style videos for all things programming, including Python.

Can I write a blog/article/guide?

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 11:52:33 +1000

If you’ve got a cool project you’re working on, or want to share something interesting you’ve learnt, the Swinux blog is the perfect way to do it. We will generally accept all posts so long as they contribute to one of the main focuses of the club:

Linux: This is everything Linux, including distros, ricing, packages, kernel contributions etc.
Hardware: This is everything PC parts, modification of game consoles, arduinos etc.
Code: This encompasses everything software, from CI/CD deployments, kernel modifications to what you learnt running/creating XYZ program, etc.

What do I use to write it?

Writing a blog is straightforward. We use Hugo, which makes the formatting easily accessible to a wide range of people. Hugo uses markdown as a formatting mechanism for articles. To create a markdown file, you can replace a .txt file with .md. For example, if I had ‘helloworld.txt’ I would replace it with ‘helloworld.md’ to make it markdown compatible.

There are a variety of tools markdown provides, for example creating headings, lists and links. You can see an exhaustive list of aspects here. Below is a code section of Setting Up The Swinux Website and what it’s rendered output will look like.

This is the markdown file containing a snippet of the article.

You can see what it looks like when Hugo formats the page.

How do I write a blog/article/guide?

It’s up to you. You would have read a forum post or news article before, and found that it is really good at conveying meaning and the author’s message. Conversely, you would have seen ways articles are written which didn’t appeal to you (perhaps even this article!).

Generally, if you are writing a guide, you want four major categories:

The Basics: Distill everything down into a couple of sentences, to inform the reader if this article is something they’d like to read.
The Resources: What resources did you consult for the project. What resources did you wish you had when learning about it? These can be online articles, physical books, stackoverflow pages etc.
The How: How did you go about the project, what steps can someone reading take to recreate what you’ve done? What things caught you out while learning, and how would you recommend someone to avoid them?
The Learning: What did you learn doing this project, and what avenues does it open up to learn in the future?

In terms of articles or blogs, there isn’t any one way to go about it. Like with guides, it’s up to you to decide what the best way to communicate to the user is. You’ll find ways to improve what you’ve written, make things more clear and add some spice. As with everything it’s a continual learning process and any effort is better than none!

What can’t I write about?

Every article should reflect one of the three categories above, although there is significant leeway in what you can write about. Likewise, as a Swinburne Student Association club, we have to abide by their code of conduct. This will not matter for the most part, but please keep it in mind.

Setting Up The Swinux Website

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 14:19:18 +1000

Have you ever wanted to create a website? Well, the Swinux committee did! Here’s how we went about it.

The Basics:

To deploy the website, we’ll need the following components:

An up-to-date Linux machine
Basic knowlege of a shell, package manager and git
Some creativity!

This guide provides all of the steps neccessary to create a simple website, with a first post.

This guide features heavy use of the && operator which allows for multiple commands on the same line. The website is a static site built by a framework called Hugo. Hugo uses markdown files to create webpages, which means creating a page, blog entry or anything else is quite simple.

The Resources:

Hugo Quickstart Guide: https://gohugo.io/getting-started/quick-start/
Re-Terminal Hugo Theme: https://github.com/mirus-ua/hugo-theme-re-terminal
Markdown formatting: https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/

The How:

To begin, we first need to verify we’re on an up to date system. Running the following commands on most distros (Ubuntu, Debian) syncs the latest version of each package to your system, and upgrades them:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Make sure to confirm the changes in the command output. Next, we need Hugo to start creating our website. Running the following command will install Hugo and prepare it for use:

sudo apt install hugo

Once Hugo is installed, we can begin to create our website. If we want to create the project in our home folder, (Think C:\Users\Yourname on Windows) we can run the following command:

cd ~/ && hugo new site swinux

After changing our current directory, we also tell Hugo to create a new website with the name of ‘swinux’. If you want to change the name of the site, feel free to change it to whatever you had in mind.

We then need to enter into the site directory by issuing the following command:

cd swinux

Next, we need to decide on a theme for Hugo. Themes dictate how Hugo will look, and there are a wide variety of themes available for your site. Themes can be installed in a variety of ways, but we will use git to install one. Running the following commands will set up the Theme swinux will use.

git init && git submodule add -f https://github.com/mirus-ua/hugo-theme-re-terminal.git themes/re-terminal && echo "theme = 're-terminal'" >> hugo.toml

The last command above will inform Hugo of the theme we want to use by entering it into the ‘hugo.toml’ file. This file contains most of the bare essentials for running a site. Now that we’ve got Hugo and our chosen theme installed, we can create our first post:

hugo new content content/posts/my-first-post.md

If we want a different name, we can change ‘my-first-post.md’ to something else, like ‘hello-world.md’. As you can see in the file extension of ‘my-first-post.md’, it is a simple markdown file. This means that you don’t really need to know anything about programming to be able to write a blog post. You’ve probably already used Markdown format before without even knowing it. Have a look and see what cool stuff markdown can do for you:

https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/

We can then open the file, either through a graphical text editor (such as Notepad, Kate or GNOME’s Text Editor) or through a command user interface (such as vi or nano). Everyone will have their preference, but I will stick to the command line and use nano:

nano ./content/posts/my-first-post.md

When you open it up, you’ll see that there is already some text. You can modify these values, but more importantly, you can begin to add your own text which will be the content of this post. Once you’re happy with what you’ve got, you can save and exit nano by doing the following shortcuts in succession:

Ctrl + S and Ctrl + X

This will save and exit nano respectively. At this point, we’ve got everything we need for our first website. We have Hugo, which manages our pages and site, and at this point we should have written something for our first webpage. We’re now ready to see it in action!

In our shell, we can run the command below to start up the webserver. This will build the website and make it available so we can see what it looks like.

hugo server

You should be able to see the above output in your shell. If you look closely, you will see that the website is available at:

http://localhost:1313/

Navigating to this link in our browser, we can see that we indeed have a webpage!

Isn’t that very meta?

At this point, you’ve learned all of the basics required to create a website with Hugo. You’ve used a couple of basic Linux commands, including use of the && operator to combine commands. In addition, you’ve used a package manager and a text editor of choice to make changes to the website using markdown. You’ve deployed the website and can navigate through it.

However, there’s still much more to learn. You can check out the resources section at the top of the page for more information.

If you’re new to Swinux, you can have a look at our previous events and meetings we’ve held. As always, we’re keen to hear your feedback and input regarding the direction of the club. You can always get in contact with us through our email, contact@swinux.org, or alternatively via Instagram and Discord.

Guide on Swinux

Getting Started With Linux: The Beginner's Brief

Some Context and History

Why Should I Use Linux?

How Can I Install Linux?

Dual-Boot

Standalone

Virtualised

What’s a Desktop Environment?

KDE

GNOME

XFCE

Anything Else?

What’s a Distro (Distribution), and Which Do I Pick?

Fedora Silverblue/Kinoite

CachyOS

Ubuntu

Yet Another Distro

How do I Use Linux?

The Filesystem

/home

/etc

/bin

/media and /mnt

The Terminal

The cd Command

The ls Command

The Package Manager

Are There Any Learning Resources You Recommend?

The Arch Wiki

YouTube

Forums

Using AI

Python Workshop Resource & Installation Guide

Setting Up Your Computer

Installing Python on Windows

Installing Python on Mac

Installing Python on Linux

Using Windows to run Python code

Using Mac/Linux to run Python code

Resources

Can I write a blog/article/guide?

What do I use to write it?

How do I write a blog/article/guide?

What can’t I write about?

Setting Up The Swinux Website

The Basics:

The Resources:

The How: