What is the terminal, and how do I use it?

The terminal is a window where you type instructions to your computer instead of clicking on things. Every Mac and Windows computer already has one. It looks bare: a blank window and a blinking cursor.

Some AI tools, like Claude Code, and anything you run on a rented server, are used this way. You don’t need to learn it. You copy a line from a guide, paste it in, and press Enter.

Open it

• Mac: press Command and Space together, type Terminal, press Enter.
• Windows: click Start, type Terminal, and click the app called Terminal.

Run a command

1. Copy the line from the guide (the grey boxes on this site have a Copy button).
2. Click in the terminal window and paste: Command and V on a Mac, Ctrl and V on Windows (or right-click).
3. Press Enter.

Text appears as it works. When the blinking cursor comes back on a new line, it has finished. If something seems stuck, Ctrl and C stops it.

Stay safe

Pressing Enter does what the line says, so only run commands from a guide or a person you trust. If someone you don’t know sends you a command to “fix” something, don’t run it.

Try one now. This just prints the date:

date