Linux Shell Basics & Environment – Full Quiz

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This quiz contains 15 questions focused on shell variables, environment variables, PATH configuration, and aliases. These concepts are heavily used by DevOps engineers in daily operations.

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Which variable is accessible only within the current shell session?

Shell variable

Environment variable

PATH variable

Global variable

Shell variables are local to the current shell instance and are not inherited by child processes.

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Which command creates an environment variable?

set VAR=value

export VAR=value

env VAR=value

define VAR=value

The export command promotes a shell variable to an environment variable, making it available to child processes.

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Which command displays all environment variables?

env

echo

print

set

The env command lists all the current environment variables.

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Which command displays a specific environment variable?

env VAR

echo $VAR

show VAR

print VAR

To view the value of a specific variable, use echo followed by the variable name prefixed with $.

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Which environment variable defines where Linux searches for commands?

HOME

SHELL

PATH

USER

The PATH variable contains a colon-separated list of directories where the shell looks for executable files.

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Which command displays the current PATH?

env PATH

echo $PATH

print PATH

show PATH

echo $PATH prints the contents of the PATH environment variable.

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Why can most Linux commands be executed from any directory?

Because of root access

Because command paths are listed in PATH

Because of aliases

Because of permissions

Commands like ls and cp are stored in directories (like /bin or /usr/bin) that are included in the PATH variable.

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Which command gives execute permission to a script?

chmod 644 script.sh

chmod +x script.sh

chmod 600 script.sh

chmod 777 script.sh

chmod +x adds the execute permission to the file, allowing it to be run as a program.

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Why does ./script.sh work but script.sh fails?

Script is not executable

PATH does not include current directory

Current directory is not in PATH

Script is missing shebang

By default, the current directory (.) is not in the PATH for security reasons, so you must specify the path explicitly (e.g., ./).

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Which file is executed when a new terminal session starts?

/etc/profile

~/.bashrc

~/.bash_history

~/.profile

~/.bashrc is a script that runs whenever you start a new interactive shell session (like opening a new terminal window).

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Which file is used to persist aliases and environment variables?

~/.bash_history

~/.bashrc

~/.vimrc

/etc/passwd

Adding aliases or export commands to ~/.bashrc ensures they are available in every new shell session.

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Which command creates a shortcut command?

export

set

alias

shortcut

The alias command allows you to define a shortcut or abbreviation for a longer command.

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Which command removes an alias?

alias -d

unalias

delalias

removealias

The unalias command removes a previously defined alias.

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Which file interpreter is defined by the shebang?

PATH

!/bin/bash

alias

export

The shebang #!/bin/bash at the top of a script tells the system to execute the file using the Bash shell.

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Which command is the default shell for most Linux distributions?

sh

bash

zsh

ksh

Bash (Bourne Again SHell) is the most common default shell in Linux environments.

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Which operator redirects output and overwrites the existing file?

|

<

The single arrow > redirects the output of a command to a file, replacing any existing content.

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Which operator appends output to the end of a file without deleting its content?

|

&

The double arrow >> appends the command output to the existing content of a file.

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Which operator is used to pass the output of one command as input to another?

|

$

The pipe operator | connects the standard output of the first command to the standard input of the second.

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Which special variable holds the exit status of the last executed command?

$!

$$

$?

$*

The $? variable stores the exit code (0 for success, non-zero for failure) of the most recent command.

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• Linux Shell Variables, Environment Variables, PATH & Aliases

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