noting down steps taken to effectively using Linux subsystem on windows

readme.txt

Hi there!

This is a reminder on how to do a few things on WSL

linux_privilages.md

Location of the Linux system Folders in local computer PS C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Packages\CanonicalGroupLimited.UbuntuonWindows_79rhkp1fndgsc\LocalState \rootfs\

Default Linux folders:

There are some linux default folders. I see them by ls -lah /

• / - Root Directory. Everything is located here. Like filesystem
• bin - Essential Binaries - contains program binaries such as cat, echo, etc.
• boot - Static Boot Files -files needed to boot the system
• cdrom - not needed
• dev - Device Files -(eg. dev/sta = SATA. not actual files but appear as file) or pseudo-devices that do not correspond to hardware.
• etc - Config Files - systemwide config files IMPORTANT to learn in detail for management
• home - Home Folder - users home folder where a user's data files and user level configuration are located. Need elevated permission (sudo) to change other's file in home
• lib - Essential Shared Libraries - shared libraries that is required by programs in bin and sbin
• media - Removable Media - attached media viz. flash drive, disk drive, etc.
• mnt - Mount points - Load additional file system. For example, mounting ./C:/Users//Document location on WSL
• opt - Optional Packages - subdirectories for external software that may not adhere to standard file system hierarachy (think about when I installed XAMPP on linux to create the webapp)
• proc - Kernal and Process Files - for process and system (similar to files in /dev)
• root - Root Home Directory - home directory of root user. Should not work as a root. Better to use an user with root access.
• run - Application State Files - Location for application to store transient files lik sockets and process IDs that cannot be stored in /tmp
• sbin - similar to bin but for system administration binaries
• snap - Ony appeared on my WSL not on ubuntu vm
• srv - Service Data - data for services provided by the system. Eg. if using Apache HTTP server, place to store website's files in directory here
• sys -
• tmp - Temporary Files - temporary files. They get deleted when system restarts
• usr - User Binary -user's binary and read only data, similar to system but specific to user? Has its own usr/bin, usr/lib, usr/sbin, etc. Installs locally compiled applications to /usr/local to prevent them from murking up the rest of the system
• var - Variable Data Files - writable counterpart to usr directory. is read only in normal operation. Log files written to /usr during normal opearion will be written to /var directory

Other directories I have seen:

• share
• games
• include
• src

Few files from /etc related to user and what they mean

/etc/passwd - The User database, with fields giving username, real name, home dir, and other info
/etc/group - similar to User but for groups, their name, privilates, etc
/etc/shadow - encrypted file that stores user passwords

Group + USER

add group
groupadd <groupname> -g <groupid>

make a group sudoer - add the group in /etc/sudoer
%<group> ALL =(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL - no passwd to do sudo

add user
useradd -d <homedir> -u <uid> -g <gid> -G <group1,group3,group7> -c <comment about name, etc> -e <account expiry date> -f <pwd expiry after days> -s <default bash ie. /bin/bash> <user>

change user password
passwd <user>

make an user sudoer - add following line in /etc/sudoers(.d)
<user> ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL

add user to a group
usermod -a -G

check for group
cat /etc/group | grep <groupname>

delete group
need to remove users first
userdel <username>
groupdel <groupname>

List current user with thier privilage
sudo -l

Reading Resources

• The Linux Sys-adm guide
• adding user

Windows+Linux+Notes.md

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL Docs)

To start the WSL:

• turn windows features on or off (I usually search that on windows menu)
• Then find windows subsystem for linux and click checkbox
• It may require restart the computer
• Go to Microsoft store and download and install Ubuntu

Corey Schafer has an excellent video on how to install

• Open powershell then bash <once installed, linux could be run on powershell>
• change default location by source cd /mnt/c/Users/<localuser>/Documents Casing matters
• find out which user you are logged in as whoami``>> root
• if default user hasn't been created, create an user
  • useradd -G admin -u 1000 admin
• to set default user as the "default user" logout of bash $ exit
  • in powershell > ubuntu config --default-user admin
  • in powershell > bash now ubuntu logs in as admin@...$ can find user by $ whoami
• in case if you forgot password to your default account, reset password by forcing password change from root
  • in powershell > ubuntu config --default-user root
  • open bash > bash will open bash shell
  • change password to default account passwd admin and confirm the new password
  • exit bash $ exit
  • in powershell > ubuntu config --default-user admin
  • in powershell > bash to go to bash

adding awscli

• sudo apt install awscli need to create and save config files with key and secret
• aws ls s3 s3://bucketname to list the buckets

adding ssh keys

SSH sign in to access resources between local machine and web account: eg. GitHub

Github example from

• Check for existing keys

  • List the files in folder .ssh
    • ls -al ~/.ssh. public keys are the ones ending in .pub
  • Can use the existing key, or create a new one to add on.

• Set up SSH and add it to SSH agent

  • ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "email@email.com" -> creates label using the provided email.
  • return to accept default file loc
  • provide passphrase or hit return for no passphrase

• add the key to SSH- Agent (locally)

  • start the ssh-agent in the background eval "$(ssh-agent -s)" should return Agent pid #### (personally issue faced here)
  • add ssh file by ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa

• add the public? key to Github

  • copy the public key copy < ~/.ssh/rsa_id.pub
    • sometimes may need to install xclip (do sudo apt-get install xclip)
  • go to
    • settings in github,
    • open ssh and gpc keys
    • click **Add/New SSH Keys **
    • In the title filed use something descriptive such as "personal surface book" or "cloud computer 1 with fedora red hat on ec2".
  • paste the key copied above and click add
  • confirm with password

• Testing

  • ssh -T git@github.com will see a warning or asking to verify the fingerprint.

• Debug