Containers are built directly on Linux, so a little background goes a long way before you start building images. This module covers the general knowledge that makes everything else in the course click faster. It's short, and you can skim anything you already know.
It starts with Linux fundamentals and shell commands, since most Docker work happens in a terminal, then covers users, groups, and permissions, which decide what a process inside a container is allowed to access. Next come package managers, used constantly inside Dockerfiles to install dependencies, and shell scripting for container entrypoints and startup checks.
The remaining background, the programming language your app is written in, application architecture, and web development, is specific to your own project, so the lessons here stay on the Linux side. Watch them in order, then continue on to Underlying Technologies.
Terminal basics, bash commands, and the essential CLI skills used by developers and DevOps engineers. Most day-to-day Docker work happens in a shell, so start here.
How Linux manages users and groups and controls access with permissions and chmod. The same model governs what a process inside a container can touch.
How package managers and repositories install, update, and remove software. You'll use apt or apk constantly inside Dockerfiles.
A one-hour introduction to writing bash scripts, the skill behind container entrypoints, startup checks, and build steps.
A long, chapter-by-chapter tour of Linux, from what it is and how to reach the terminal onward, that ties the module together and fills any gaps.