How to Use the Terminal or Command Line in macOS
The Terminal app is an integral part of any macOS installation, stretching back to the earliest iterations of the Apple OS, back in the early 90s, when the operating system was still called NeXTSTEP. It works as a text command terminal, allowing users to perform tasks and execute commands that cover a wide range of functions.
The closest analog to the Mac Terminal app on a Windows system is the Command Prompt Windows application, which in turn is descended from the text-based commands used in DOS.
If you need to access the Terminal app on your Mac, simply do the following:
- Open Finder.
- Click the Applications menu item in the left menu panel.
- Scroll through the available applications and click the Utilities icon.
- Find the Terminal app icon in the Utilities folder and double-click it.
This will launch the Terminal window, which looks almost like a plain text editor, only it has a single active line where you can enter your commands and instructions.
To become familiar with Terminal and the full scope of commands it offers access to is a considerable task that is well outside the scope of this article. The range of commands and possibilities Terminal offers is vast and it would be impossible to list everything you can do using the app. Terminal allows you to manage system processes, copy or delete files, rename directories, execute shell scripts and so much more.
If you are interested in learning the full range of features that Terminal offers, your first stop should be the official Mac Terminal User Guide, provided by Apple on their official support website. This will be a great starting place to learn about the full functionality of the Terminal app and your first step to becoming a Mac power user.