BashQuest

An interactive terminal game that turns your shell into a full systems administration training ground. 90 levels. Eighteen tiers. Zero dependencies.

Play in Browser Get Started View on GitHub

Each challenge explains how a command works and why you’d use it, not just the syntax. You create an account, log in, and work through 90 progressive levels across eighteen tiers: from basic navigation all the way to LVM, enterprise networking and SAN storage, kernel panics and building your own kernel, git, Docker, tmux, ricing your own desktop with a tiling window manager, and finally the newest generation of TUI tools.

Play in Browser

Try it right now, no install: play BashQuest at /play. Progress saves to your browser only.

90 Levels, Eighteen Tiers

From ls/pwd to LVM, enterprise networking, SAN storage, kernel builds, git, Docker, tmux, and desktop ricing. See the full breakdown.

Meet Tasmania

A mentor character reacts to every correct answer, every wrong one, every hint you take, and every streak.

Zero Dependencies

Pure Bash, no installation, no external services. Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows (bash 3.2+, via WSL or Git Bash).

A Real Certificate

Graduate all 90 levels locally or via late.sh for a certificate that’s yours to keep. The browser version is practice only, no certificate.

Quick Start

curl -o bashquest.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hardlygospel/bashquest/main/bashquest.sh
chmod +x bashquest.sh
bash bashquest.sh

No dependencies. No installation. Pure Bash.

Features

Feature	Detail
90 levels	Beginner → full sysadmin mastery, each with 4–8 challenges
Pseudo login	Register/login with hashed passwords, saved per user
Lives & XP	3 lives, earn XP per correct answer, save progress
Leaderboard	Ranked across all players on the machine
Hints	Type `hint` for a clue on any challenge
Skip	Type `skip` to pass a challenge (costs 1 life)
Topic jump menu	Two-step level select: pick a tier, then a level within it
Command reference	In-game cheat sheet covering all 90 level topics
Colorful TUI	ANSI colour, ASCII banners, status bar
Cross-platform	Linux, macOS, and Windows via WSL or Git Bash (bash 3.2+)
Streaks & achievements	Track your best streak and earn badges for hint-free, skip-free, lives-untouched runs
Tier milestones	A checkpoint screen at the end of each of the eighteen tiers

License

Licensed under GPL-3.0.