Linux

Contrary to what others write*: Yes, the terminal.

It's not that you can't get by without it on many distros, for most things. But for even for medium and non-techy users, getting the fear of the terminal out of the way early will make their journey much, much smoother. It doesn't have to be much, no shell scripting or anything, just the basics, conceptually what a terminal is, what the shell is, how to execute stuff, maybe chmod +x to execute, other utilities like ls, cp, mv, mkdir. maybe symlinks/ln. That'll be enough to take away the fear if they see any "Now do this in the terminal" advice online (which they absolutely will, let's not delude ourselves), and maybe enough to get them to notice that "huh, sometimes the terminal is more convenient, they weren't bullshitting when they said that".

*) Since you asked about "beginner Linux users" and not users that "just want to use their computer and not think about the OS at all", I'm pretty confident about that assertion.

PS: I really think that's not too much too ask. I remember my mother learning DOS commands back in the day for a regular desk-job. Everyone can do this, it's not difficult, people just have to let go of a few false preconceptions drilled into them by the industry (MS, Google and Apple).

everything is a file lol, unlike on Windows where a lot of things are GUI based:

• Want to change your grub font size? Heres a file.
• Your python gives dependencies errors? Well, because the libraries (aka files) are in a different directory.
• want to change your password and username? Heres a file to change .....so on and so forth

On Linux you have a lot of power, can use sudo to make changes to a file. If you know what youre doing, great. If you dont, system can break. Even without sudo, a misplace / mistype of files in the /home directory can cause weird stuff.

So TLDR is: be careful when make changes to files on Linux. Dont listen to stranger on forum who gives out command to paste and run. Do your research what the command does.

The biggest “Linux” skill would be package management. It is one of the biggest differences.

Most of the rest of the advice here stems from desktop environment choice.

Backing up a copy of that config file, before editing it.

If you brick or break anything, rolling back to a working-state is much easier.

--//--

You can manually cp a 2nd version of the files, or there are tools to automatically backup for you.

DO NOT download and install random programs from the internet. Not a deb/rpm file, not an elf binary, not an install script, nothing. Use your package manager or desktop environment's app store. At most use flatpak or snap packages.

Linux gets its reputation for not getting malware from the same place Mac does: It has a managed app repository where you get all your software from. Difference is Mac doesn't let you install arbitrary programs at all, while Linux expects you to know better than to do that. Someone who doesn't know what they're doing downloading Linux programs from random websites will inevitably hit one of the super rare Linux malware in the wild.

Even ignoring security issues, running an install script even from a reputable open source project's website can open you up to package dependency hell. And if you ever need to upgrade or modify it, you're in for a rough time because none of the existing tools built into your distro will help you. It's even worse than Windows when this happens because Windows at least expects for things like this to happen (because everything comes in its own installer and handles updates separately) and has UX elements to help non tech savvy users deal with their mess of apps, Linux expects anyone bypassing the normal package manager to know what they're doing and if you don't, it won't be a good day for you.

One thing that many guides tend to skip is how to install software. People coming from Windows might try to install software the "Windows way" by going to the website and downloading them. That is just likely to cause pain and suffering for a number of reasons.

Instead, every beginner friendly distro has its own flavour of software centre that users should be encouraged to use instead. Maybe even include a link to flathub in the guide or something.

Trusted sources, only.

Same as Windows, Android: sideloading (tarballs, flatpaks, snaps whatever) is a no-no.

Like bash curl install.sh bad

su/sudo -Why you will need to use it and how not to use it.

-I still don't think it's wise to rely on the various stores like Discover or Pop!_Shop to do basic updates as they are bloated and slow to an alarming rate while running.

I set up Mint for a non-techy relative on their old desktop.

• Their use-case is almost entirely web browser, so there was no need to cover installing programs. Click the same browser icon and it should behave basically the same way.
• No need to explain the terminal beyond "this is where you can type advanced commands, you don't need to worry about it".
• If there's an error message, read it and try to understand what it's actually saying rather than just dismissing it. Do a web search if you're feeling confident, send me a photo of the screen if you're not.
• Explain how to install updates (or just configure automatic backups and updates for them).
• Explain when and why the computer will ask for a password (e.g. login and updates) and how that password is for the computer, not for their email or whatever.
• Explain the basics of folders. This is your home directory, here's where downloads go, here's how to create a folder and drag your files into it.
• Tell them not to panic. I've seen a lot of older people terrified of pressing the wrong button, make sure they know how to understand what they're doing and undo their mistakes.
• Be patient!

I find that one of the biggest differences is the file ownership/group design, and the non admin user. Sure, it might not come up in a straightforward manner, but it will.

Why do I need to put in a password all the time? How come I can't just move this file to another drive?

This might be too "advanced" for what you're looking for, but I think even basic usage comes across this.

I think the biggest fundamental concept for any computer regardless of operating system is filesystem hierarchy. The concept of nested folders is core to using a personal computer, but for the last two decades UI/X teams have done everything in their power to obscure and abstract it away. Many younger people conceptualize the storage on their device as just an amorphous blob that apps manage autonomously. Windows is starting to go this way as well with OneDrive being sold as the way to manage all your data, but on Linux the file system is still king.

Your mom is presumably old enough to have some experience with desktop PCs, so hopefully that basic hurdle is already cleared. And honestly once someone is at that level of base competence, along with basic interface concepts like how to use a mouse and keyboard, clicking on icons, use of a web browser etc, with the right distro you really don't need to explain much else. There might be a few quirks of the UI to explain depending on what you choose, but most of that can be handled by just watching them use the computer for a bit, and/or asking them to give you a list of questions and annoyances after they use it for a few days.

The biggest difference is one that most "I just want it to work" users will actually love, and that's relearning how to install software. Having one central location to install verified software from is a change from the wild west of downloading installers from the internet, but it shouldn't be a difficult transition. Most people these days don't even install software beyond maybe Zoom, so you can probably get away with just installing any third party software they need in the initial setup.

I recommend an immutable distro like Fedora Silverblue, at least if a) you're setting it up and are reasonably technical, and b) you don't want to go over and help them fix stuff often. I set my mom's laptop up with it 4+ years ago and she's only had one problem since then.

That it is another OS. It's not Windows.

It's not just for Linux but :

• there is an error message somewhere

It's fundamental because instead of saying "It doesn't work!" and get no useful help, people must think of it as an investigation (or whatever get them going) looking for clues. Until you get the right message and can provide the right context (e.g. what computer are you using, what OS version, etc) then you get generic help which is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Sure it's not entirely impossible if you are both lucky and patient but you are doing yourself and others a huge disservice.

Before Linux maybe they were used to black boxes but here, nobody is intentionally trying to hide away anything from you!

PS: bonus, notes are basically free. Jolt down notes about anything and everything you are learning. Don't just "use" a computer, LEARN how to use a computer.

This thread is largely just basic computer skills advice that is necessary on Windows and Mac as well. (And that is great!)

So I'll add the ones we skipped that have nothing to do with OS at all, but are the usual issues for new PC users:

• Give a quick overview of what the mouse is for.
• Talk about or just disable the CAPSLOCK key.
• Show them where to find and how to read the "do I have Internet?" icon (usually in the lower right, regardless of OS)
• (If not a laptop) Teach them that the monitor and the PC have separate power buttons. Maybe leave a sign out that says "Push both buttons to turn on."

And as others have said:

• Show them how to search for and add software using the software center, (rather than download from random websites)

Something I don't think is mentioned because someone who knows how to use windows can figure it out: what to do when a window freezes, the keyboard command to reboot, other common things that go wrong and how to get around them. I use a gui task manager and it's basically just like windows, but if the computer freezes on someone who doesn't know what to do you will be receiving a phone call.

The bottom level of your file system is /, not C:, and other drives or partitions you have will be represented in subfolders like mnt or something.

Everything is represented as a file, even things that are not strictly speaking a file on your primary hard drive.

The part that you interact with the most, your graphical user interface, has a particular name, like gnome, kde, xfce, icewm, etc.

When you have to open a terminal, you might be interacting with different shells as well, but it will usually be bash.

Always install from the repos unless your nerdy friend who helped you get set up says it's okay to download this or that particular app.

Maybe include a bit about how to run regular backups automatically.

And also list out different alternative programs relative to what they might be used to in a Microsoft environment.

Little quality of life stuff.

• How to install video codecs
• How to get thumbnails working in the file manager.
• Adding cloud storage to the file manager.
• How to make libre office save files with MS office filetypes by default (depending on work / school requirements)
• Maybe samba shares if they have another computer in the house.

For truly casual users (grandma or a student taking notes) there isn't a lot to learn. Here's your browser, here's your office apps, this is like "notepad". This is the software center for updates or any other applications, press the "windows key" to get your menu.

Hard to summarize, because it differs so much from person to person.

I installed Linux on my parent's computer. They don't need to know anything about Linux, because everything they use is identical to their old Windows PC. They click the icon for Chrome to open the browser. They Click the icon for LibreOffice to type up a "Word" doc and print it by clicking "file > print"

As far as they're concerned, they are still using Windows.

For a gamer, they will need to know a little about Proton, possibly Lutris and the Hero launcher. They might need to know about installing nVidia drivers or tweaking a few things in the Steam launch options to get games to run better.

It's tough to know exactly what a new Linux user will "need" to know in order to use Linux.

I'm talking about like your mom if she started using Linux, and just needs it to be able to open a web browser and check Facebook or her email or something.

Nothing. Just set up Elementary or Mint or something with a shortcut to Firefox and there's nothing else to do. Any apps they might need would come from an app store, so point that out.

A student that just needs a laptop to do homework and take notes

So how to open a text editor? Recommending an easy-to-use and standard one like Kate would be good, but a polished distro will have one preinstalled.

someone that just wants to play games on Steam and chat on discord.

They need concepts like filesystems (e.g. the concept of a root directory, mounting, and device files), software repositories (since steam comes from a non-default repo in many distros), an awareness of the whole graphics driver situation, and hardware both appropriate to their needs and to running Linux.

Package managers:

• Repositories
• Update mechanism. Many of my friends and family are used to updates being either automatic, nagged, or nonexistent. Not an issue on auto-updating distros, but could get ugly on vanilla Arch or Debian.
• Resisting the urge to install loose executables from websites

File system:

• Write caching. Windows doesn't do this for most USB drives so people get away without safely ejecting for years. On Linux, the safe eject button does matter.
• File hierarchy and mount points. When I first used Linux, I was very confused by the lack of the Program Files and Users folders, My Computer page, and drive letters.
• File permissions, especially executables
• Partitioning and how to format drives in the absence of a format dialog in the file explorer

Bash shell:

• It's not the incomplete mess that made cmd or Powershell so intimidating
• Resisting the urge to paste in commands and scripts without knowing what they do

IME, beyond the install, it's all distro- and desktop-specific.

• How to find and install apps varies from distro to distro. IIRC, the Mint menu item is something obvious, like "Install software", but on Arch (you'd have to hate your newbie to throw them into Arch), it requires a chicken/egg finding and installing a graphical installer. If you know the distro, this would be good information - or if you're helping with the install, create a desktop launcher.
• Showing them where settings are. Surprising to me, this has been super-not-obvious to my newbs. Even though the KDE Settings app is called "settings", I think Windows and Mac folks are used to looking for settings in a specific place, rather than an app name - and in Windows, there's can be several ways to get up different settings, like changing display stuff is always in a weird place. Again, maybe a desktop or panel shortcut would help.
• One of my newbs used Mint for two years without opening a shell, so I don't think that's an issue. He even found and installed a piece of software he wanted, but I can't remember if I originally showed him how to the first time. But that's Mint. He did, however, need help setting up a printer, but that's because he couldn't find the settings program; he came from Windows originally.
• Edge cases, like printers and other peripherals, can be hard, and I don't think any amount of extra documentation is going to help, because almost every difficulty is practically unique. There's a ton of online help for stuff like that already. And then, if they want to, eg, attach a game controller... well, that's very specific and again varies by controller. I don't think you can cover all of these edge cases.
• Games can be hard only because of the indirection of having to install some other software, like Proton or Steam, creating an account, knowing how to check for compatability - there's a lot of moving parts. It's not just: go to the game's web site, buy, download, and install something and run it, like I imagine it is on Windows. So maybe that would be useful - or - again - pre-installing one of the game stores and (surprise) making a shortcut would eliminate that.
• Network connections. Again, I always find figuring out how to get to network configuration in Windows to be hard, and bizarrely having multiple ways of accomplishing the same task, so I'd guess going the other direction would be confusing. Having a note about how to get to the configuration would be handy.

As I think about it, I realize that configuration under KDE of way more encapsulated and clear than on Windows, and people having learned the byzantine and myriad ways of Windows, KDE's relative simplicity is confusing. Windows people look for configurations in places they've learned to look, which aren't always where they are under KDE (I can't speak much about Gnome - I don't use it or set people up with it). MacOS isn't as bad, having a similar configure-everything-through-a-single-settings-program approach.

Anyway, that's my experience.

• The difference between the OS and the DE.
• How to install apps in Flatpak, AppImage, and dnf/apt
• maybe user help programs like tldr or trash-rm? Those are both cmd programs though, so that might be too advanced for beginners.

• Linux isn't Windows. I know that is a no-brainer but it needs to be said so it won't be as 1:1 to Windows.
• How to install software both in terminal and as well as software manger GUI. Bonus points about compiling software from places like GitHub.
• Packages type and their pros and cons
• Trying to run Windows application via Wine (or some manager like Bottles or Lutris) as well as comparing running same Windows Application from Linux and Windows.
• Alteratives to popular software and list out what it can do and what it doesn't have so user can see if that feature it doesn't have would affect them. For example, GIMP doesn't have full CMYK support which for most users, it isn't a big idea but for people that want to edit images to be ready for printing, they might want to keep that in mind.

googling and copypasting in that black app called terminal

Rtfm. That problem? it's almost always a permission issue.