Serious Linux.
Questionable
humour.
Cryptic commands explained. Deep technical rabbit holes explored. Linux, Unix and the glorious business of figuring out how things actually work.
No fluff. No gatekeeping. Occasional penguins.
➜ ~ whoami
a curious human
➜ ~ man understanding
No manual entry for understanding
➜ ~ ./figure-it-out
✓ You've come to the right place.
➜ ~
Got a question?
Let's untangle it.
Find the explanation you need. Stay for the one you didn't know you needed.
Why do df and du disagree?
Deleted-but-open files, reserved blocks and mount points explained.
Read the answer Shell & ScriptingBeginnerWhat does 2>&1 actually mean?
Demystify file descriptors and shell redirection order.
Read the answer Storage & FilesystemsIntermediateLVM snapshots: what actually happens?
A practical introduction to snapshots and copy-on-write.
Read the answer Systemd & LogsBeginnerHow do I read logs from the previous boot?
Make journalctl show the boot that went wrong.
Read the answer Networking & SecurityIntermediateSSH keys: what is the server actually checking?
Public-key authentication without the mystery.
Read the answer Editors & ToolsBeginnerVim motions: stop counting arrow keys
Combine operators and motions to edit at the speed of thought.
Read the answer Shell & ScriptingAdvancedBash completion: the three variables that matter
Understand COMP_WORDS, COMP_CWORD and COMPREPLY.
Read the answer VirtualisationAdvancedProxmox quorum: why won't my cluster cooperate?
Understand votes, split-brain protection and QDevices.
Read the answerNo matches yet. Try another term — the shell won't judge you.
A growing collection of starter articles — more deep dives and practical labs to come.
Choose your
rabbit hole.
Start with a topic. End up understanding something completely unexpected.
Less doomscrolling.
More terminal time.
Follow along with practical demonstrations on the Random Linux Stuff! YouTube channel, then come back here for the commands, explanations and extra rabbit holes.
Visit the channel ↗IS YOUR FRIEND.▶
Break things.
Learn things.
Repeat.
Experiments, commands and exercises you can try in a disposable VM. Because nothing teaches quite like watching something fail in a controlled environment.
Start with an LVM snapshot experiment ↗✓ curiosity increased
✓ production systems untouched
The rabbit hole
has no bottom.
You came here to learn what 2>&1 means. Forty-five minutes later you're reading about file descriptors, fork(), execve() and the history of Unix. Excellent. That's exactly how learning should work.
Hi, I'm John.
Linux nerd. Curious by default.
I've spent years working with Linux, Unix, servers, storage and the occasional system that refuses to cooperate. Context Switch is where I share the explanations, experiments and hard-won lessons that make these systems so fascinating.
I also make the Random Linux Stuff! videos on YouTube. Here you'll find the extra detail, commands and rabbit holes that don't always fit into a video. And when I'm not explaining things, I offer Linux and Proxmox consultancy through WorldHQ.
Made by a Linux nerd.
For Linux nerds (and future ones).
Context Switch is an independent, ever-growing resource for anyone who enjoys understanding computers rather than simply persuading them to work.
Expect practical examples, proper explanations, a few terrible jokes, and a firm belief that technical learning should be fun.
Meet me on YouTube ↗