What is the difference between $ and # signs in Linux environment? As I started working on Linux and I found that both are different. I mean do they have different set of privileges?
[root@localhost ~]# and [tom@localhost ~]$.
1 Answer
In short, if the screen shows a dollar sign ($) or hash (#) on the left of the blinking cursor, you are in a command-line environment.
$, #, % symbols indicate the user account type you are logged in to.
- Dollar sign (
$) means you are a normal user. - hash (
#) means you are the system administrator (root). - In the C shell, the prompt ends with a percentage sign (
%).
There are differences on prompts in different Unix or GNU/Linux distributions because of their default settings. For example, the prompt of Debian/Ubuntu is guest@linux:~$, the one of Fedora/CentOS/RedHat is [guest@linux ~]$ and the one of SuSE Linux/OpenSUSE is guest@linux:~>. In general, the prompt usually show the login user name, machine hostname, and current working directory and ended with a dollar ($), percentage (%), or hash (#) sign.
guest@linux:~$ guest- username: the user account you are logged in to.linux- machine hostname: the machine you are operating.~- current working directory: the directory you are in. Tilde (~) means home directory, i.e. the default directory when first logging in.
gayanw@myubuntu-host:~$ pwd
/home/gayanwReference:
7
