Terminal: Introduction

Using a terminal is intimidating at first, but learning just a few basics will have a drastic impact on your coding journey. Luckily, picking up what you need to get going is easy and fast!

This quick start focuses on understanding the fundamentals of the terminal. At the end of this guide, you will know:

• what a terminal is
• why you should learn how to use one
• which terminal to use and how to open it

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What Is a Terminal?

A terminal is a program you can use to interact with the files and software on your computer in a powerful and somewhat old-school way. Unlike the Graphical User Interface (GUI) you’re used to, with its many clickable buttons and draggable icons, a terminal lets you controls your computer using text instructions.

When given your text-only instructions, the terminal will also reply in text-only form, whether it’s telling you what folder you’re working on, returning a list of records, giving you live updates on a software installation, or letting you know something went wrong.

For most popular operating systems (like Windows, MacOS, and many Linux distributions), the more intuitive GUIs have completely replaced the terminal for everyday use by casual users. Thankfully, all of these systems also include a built-in terminal program for their more adventurous users! While there are many different terminal programs out there to choose from, these built-in terminals are perfect to get started with.

In short, a terminal is another way to interact with your computer—to use programs, run scripts, look at files and information, and carry out other types of instructions.

A note on vocabulary…

There are three terms programmers use interchangeably to talk about the terminal in casual conversation: “shell”, “terminal”, and “command line/command prompt”. Technically, these terms refer to different things, but the distinction rarely matters in practice.

Don’t worry about using the wrong terminology: even experienced programmers may not fully grasp the difference between these concepts. And, like often happens in programming, the exact boundary between them can be controversial in itself! While understanding these terms is useful, everyone will know what you mean even if you aren’t using the most technically correct term.

Want to know more anyway?

Though the exact boundaries between these terms is often the subject of discussion, here’s how the authors of this guide understand them:

• Shell: The program that runs within your “terminal window”. It understands how to run the commands it’s passed and give back their results.
• Terminal: The program you write the commands themselves in. It passes information to the shell and displays shell’s output back to you.
• Command-Line Interface (CLI/command line) or command prompt (prompt): The actual place where you type the commands.

In short, your terminal has a command line where you type commands. Your terminal takes what’s in the command line and gives it to the shell, which processes the command and gives information back to the terminal. The terminal displays the information to you.

Why Should I Learn Terminal?

Terminals are more than just a replacement for your GUI. As mentioned before, they’re a powerful tool once you become comfortable with them. There are many reasons to learn to use terminals:

• Some powerful programs (especially for programmers) are only available as CLIs via a terminal.
• Some tasks that are complex through a GUI are easier or faster via a terminal.
• Using a terminal makes you look incredibly cool and feel more confident in your skills, and it’s a lot easier than you think!

What Terminal Should I Use?

Since terminals are programs, you have a choice about which terminal program to use. Although many of them are similar, some have useful features like allowing copy and paste (not a given!) or running multiple terminal tabs in one window.

In most cases, there is no wrong choice for your terminal, and it all comes down to personal preference. As you continue on your programming journey, you may want to try different terminals or customize the one you’re using. For now, we’ve listed some great first choices.

Don’t overthink your tools!

With everything programming, jumping into practice quickly will help you more than choosing the perfect tool. When you’re uncertain about the best tool to use, pick one then revisit your choice later.

Windows

Most Windows machines come with two terminal programs already installed: Command Prompt and PowerShell.

PowerShell is our recommended terminal for Windows because it allows you to use Unix-like commands on a Windows system. This means you never have to look up Windows-specific instructions!

If you find PowerShell isn’t installed, Windows has instructions on how to install the latest version for Windows 11 here.

If you can’t install PowerShell but have Git installed, you can use the Git Bash terminal that comes with it. Like PowerShell, Git Bash will allow you to use Unix commands on Windows.

Why not Command Prompt?

Because Windows is not based on Unix, the commands it comes pre-installed with are different from Unix-based operating systems like MacOS and Linux. Unlike PowerShell, Command Prompt uses Windows commands. This makes following most instructions (both on the web and in our guides) very confusing!

Opening Your Terminal

Opening a terminal in Windows is as simple as going to the Start Menu → All Apps (Program Files) → clicking the terminal application in your program list.

MacOS

MacOS comes installed with a terminal program aptly named Terminal, which is okay to get started with.

Opening Your Terminal

There are two ways to open Terminal on MacOS. Choose one of the following:

• Click the Launchpad icon, type Terminal in the search field, click Terminal.
• In Finder, open the /Application/Utilities folder, double-click Terminal.

Linux

All Linux distros come with a default terminal installed, which is okay to get started with.

Opening Your Terminal

In some distros like Ubuntu, there are two methods to open a terminal. Choose one of the following:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T.
2. Click the Ubuntu icon in the upper-left to open the Dash, type “terminal”, click on the terminal program.

Other distros may have other shortcuts or methods for accessing a terminal program.