Computer Science & Computer Engineering

A terminal is a program that allows you to interact directly with the operating system by typing textual commands. This section describes how to open such a terminal on your computer, whether it be running Linux, macOS, or Windows. Our instructions cover the most straight forward sequence of steps—you might find quicker ways to do this.

terminal

Linux

  1. Click on Activities in the top-left portion of your screen.
  2. Type "terminal".
  3. Select the icon labeled "Terminal".

ATTENTION: Our instructions assume you are using the GNOME desktop environment. If you are not using GNOME, then search the Internet for instructions specific to your preferred desktop environment.

macOS

  1. Execute the Launchpad application.
  2. Type "terminal".
  3. Click the resulting icon.

Windows

Type "cmd" in the search bar next to the Windows menu on the lower-left of your task bar and press enter.