_Terminal

Practise PowerShell and Bash on realistic data, with exercises that mark themselves. Everything runs inside your own browser tab.

A practice terminal for people who learn by typing. Pick a topic, run the command, and press Check my answer — the exercises mark themselves on what your command actually produced, so there is rarely only one right answer.

Nothing here touches a real system. The accounts, printers, services, volumes and event logs are invented, the filesystem exists only in your browser tab, and no command you type is sent anywhere. Break whatever you like — Reset sandbox puts it back.

The Shell Lab: a PowerShell console with an exercise, a hint and the answer being checked

A real console, in your browser

PowerShell and Bash, on realistic sample data: services, event logs, users, disks.
61 exercises from your first command to scripting, each marked the moment you run it.
Stuck? A hint, then Guide me, which builds the answer one step at a time.
Nothing you type leaves your browser. Your progress is saved to your account.

Free for members.

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What you will practise

PowerShell 33 exercises

Beginner 10

Meet PowerShell: Where am I? · What can I run? · Ask for help
Finding your way around: List your folder · Look in another folder · Read a file · Move into a folder
Objects and variables: Pick one property · What is on this object? · Keep it in a variable

Intermediate 13

Sorting and selecting: Choose your columns · Top of the list
Filtering the pipeline: Disabled accounts · Two conditions at once · Wildcard matching · Alphabetical names
Files and directories: Create a directory · Copy a file · Rename a directory · Delete a file
Grouping and counting: Largest department · How many are running · Count the shared queues

Advanced 10

System resources: Memory hogs · Volumes running low · Total CPU in use
Event logs: Errors in the System log · Noisiest source · Most recent events · Print problems only
Scripting: Do something with each one · Make a decision · Write your own command

Bash 28 exercises

Beginner 9

Getting started: Where am I? · Who am I? · Say something · What can I run?
Navigating and listing: List your folder · List a directory · Long listing · Read a file · Move into a folder

Intermediate 9

Reading and filtering text: Find matching lines · First few lines · Pick out a column
Files and directories: Create a directory · Copy a file · Rename a directory · Delete a file
Counting and summarising: Count lines · Tally by value

Advanced 10

System resources: Disk space · Memory in use · Biggest memory users
System logs: Errors only · One unit at a time · Count the failures · Kernel messages
Scripting: Store a value · Loop over files · Save output to a file

A mascot that grows as you learn

Finish the Beginner exercises and your mascot hatches; finish Advanced and it becomes a Legend. It shows on your profile, beside your forum posts and on the Top of the Stack board.