This lab introduced me to shell scripting for system automation in Linux, with a focus on creating and managing backups. I created a user account and wrote a script that generated a compressed tar archive of the user’s home directory using inputs like my MIDAS name and the current date to name the backup files. I also learned how to move files to system directories like /var/backups, apply compression, and schedule automated execution using crontab. A challenge was correctly handling permissions for system directories and ensuring the script ran properly on a timed schedule. Overall, it improved my understanding of automation, backups, and task scheduling in Linux environments.