What is the Terminal? Complete Beginner Guide for Mac and Windows (2026)

Most beginner tutorials assume you already know what the terminal is. This one doesn't. By the end you'll be able to navigate your file system, create project folders, run programs, and read error messages — all without touching your mouse.

What is the terminal, and why do developers use it?

The terminal is a text-based interface to your computer. Instead of clicking icons and menus you type instructions and press Enter. The computer executes them immediately.

That sounds slower than clicking, but it isn't once you know the commands. A developer can:

• Create 10 nested folders in one command instead of clicking "New Folder" 10 times
• Install a library in 3 seconds with npm install instead of hunting through a GUI installer
• Run the same sequence of steps every time with no mouse errors
• Connect to a remote server that has no screen at all

Everything in modern development — installing Node.js, running Git, starting a Next.js app — happens through the terminal. There is no way around it.

How to open the terminal

macOS

Option 1 — Spotlight (fastest):

1. Press Cmd + Space
2. Type Terminal
3. Press Enter

Option 2 — Finder: Go to Applications → Utilities → Terminal

You'll see a window with a prompt that looks something like this:

yash@MacBook-Pro ~ %

That % (or $ on older Macs) means the terminal is ready for a command.

Windows

Windows has three options. Here's what each one is:

Install Windows Terminal (free, takes 2 minutes):

1. Open the Microsoft Store
2. Search for "Windows Terminal"
3. Click Install

Once open, Windows Terminal starts PowerShell by default. All commands in this guide will work in PowerShell unless marked otherwise.

The mental model: your terminal always has a location

Before any command makes sense, understand this: the terminal is always "inside" a folder on your computer. That current location is called the working directory. Every command you run acts relative to where you currently are.

Core navigation commands

See where you are — pwd / cd with no arguments

Mac/Linux:

pwd

Output:

/Users/yash/Documents

Windows PowerShell:

cd

Output:

C:\Users\yash\Documents

pwd stands for "print working directory." It answers the question: where am I right now?

List what's in a folder — ls / dir

Mac/Linux:

ls

ls -la    # show hidden files and file sizes too

Windows:

dir

ls        # PowerShell also accepts ls as an alias for dir

Output (Mac example):

Desktop    Documents    Downloads    Projects

Move into a folder — cd

cd Documents

cd Documents/Projects/my-app    # jump multiple levels at once

cd ..                           # go up one level to the parent folder

cd ../..                        # go up two levels

cd ~                            # jump to your home folder (Mac/Linux)

cd $HOME                        # same thing on Windows PowerShell

Create a folder — mkdir

mkdir my-project

mkdir -p my-project/src/components    # create nested folders in one go (Mac/Linux)

Windows PowerShell:

mkdir my-project
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "my-project\src\components" -Force

Create an empty file — touch / New-Item

Mac/Linux:

touch index.html
touch style.css script.js    # create multiple files at once

Windows PowerShell:

New-Item index.html

Or the old cmd-style trick that still works in PowerShell:

type nul > index.html

Delete a file or folder — rm / del

Mac/Linux:

rm old-file.txt
rm -r old-folder          # -r means recursive, needed to delete a folder

Windows PowerShell:

Remove-Item old-file.txt
Remove-Item old-folder -Recurse

Warning: rm on Mac/Linux does not move to Trash. The file is gone. Double-check before pressing Enter.

Copy a file — cp / Copy-Item

Mac/Linux:

cp source.txt destination.txt
cp -r source-folder/ destination-folder/    # copy a whole folder

Windows:

Copy-Item source.txt destination.txt
Copy-Item source-folder -Destination destination-folder -Recurse

Move or rename a file — mv / Move-Item

Mac/Linux:

mv old-name.txt new-name.txt     # rename
mv file.txt Documents/           # move to a different folder

Windows:

Move-Item old-name.txt new-name.txt
Move-Item file.txt Documents\

Clear the screen — clear / cls

Mac/Linux:

clear

Windows:

cls

Or press Ctrl + L on both platforms.

Two time-saving shortcuts

Tab completion

Start typing a folder or file name and press Tab. The terminal auto-completes it.

cd Doc[TAB]    # completes to: cd Documents

If there are multiple matches, press Tab twice to see them all. Use tab completion constantly — it prevents typos in paths.

Command history

Press the Up arrow key to scroll through previous commands. Press it repeatedly to go further back. Press Down to come forward. When you find the command you want, press Enter.

Running a script or program

Once you've installed a programming language or tool, you run it from the terminal.

Run a Python script:

python3 my_script.py

Run a Node.js file:

node app.js

Run a shell script:

bash setup.sh

The pattern is always: program filename. The terminal finds the program, hands it the file, and shows the output.

Reading error messages

Error messages look scary but they always tell you exactly what's wrong.

When you see an error, read the last line first. It's usually the clearest statement of what went wrong.

Shell, terminal, bash, zsh, PowerShell — what's the difference?

These words get mixed up constantly. Here's the short version:

The terminal is the window. The shell is the engine inside it.

Hands-on exercise: build a project folder structure

Do this now. Open your terminal and run these commands exactly. By the end you'll have a real folder structure and you'll have used every command in this guide.

# 1. Go to your home folder
cd ~

# 2. Create a projects folder if you don't have one
mkdir projects

# 3. Enter it
cd projects

# 4. Create a new project folder
mkdir my-first-site

# 5. Enter the project
cd my-first-site

# 6. Create the folder structure
mkdir src
mkdir src/css
mkdir src/js
mkdir public

# 7. Create the main files
touch index.html
touch src/css/style.css
touch src/js/app.js

# 8. Confirm it all exists
ls -R

Expected output:

index.html  public  src

./public:

./src:
css  js

./src/css:
style.css

./src/js:
app.js

Now rename the project:

cd ..                              # go up to projects/
mv my-first-site portfolio-site    # rename the folder
cd portfolio-site                  # go back in
ls                                 # confirm everything is still there

You just built and renamed a project using nothing but the terminal.

Mac vs Windows command reference

What to learn next

The terminal is the foundation. Once you're comfortable here, everything else builds on top:

• Git — version control you run entirely from the terminal. See the Git beginner guide.
• Node.js — JavaScript on your computer, installed and run through the terminal. See the Node.js beginner guide.
• Next.js — React framework you create and run with terminal commands. See the Next.js beginner guide.
• Python — same pattern: install it, run scripts with python3 filename.py. See the Python beginner guide.

The terminal feels awkward for about a week. After that it feels faster than any GUI you've ever used.