Pro Tip: Command line interface is commonly abbreviated to “CLI.”

Wake Up Terminal! (Mac)

• Find the Terminal application with Finder and navigate to the directory of your choice. If you took Codecademy’sLearn the Command Linecourse, you’ll already know how to do this. Otherwise, see the instructions below.

Instructions

• When you first open Terminal, you are in the root directory. Navigate to your Documents directory withcd Documents.
• Create a new folder called “my_project” withmkdir my_final_project.
• Change your directory to the folder you just created withcd my_project.
• Create a test file withtouch test.rb(This will create a ruby file within the my_project folder).

Wake Up Command Prompt! (Windows)

• Search for the Command Prompt program and navigate to the directory of your choice. If you took Codecademy’sLearn the Command Linecourse, you’ll already know how to do this. Otherwise, see the instructions below.

• When you first open Terminal, you are in the root directory. Navigate to your Documents directory withcd Documents.
• Create a new folder called “my_project” withmkdir my_project.
• Change your directory to the folder you just created withcd my_project
• OpenSublime Text, click on File > New File , then navigate to Documents > my_project, and save the file astest.rb. (This will create a ruby file within the my_project folder.)

Wrap-Up

Now that you’ve awakened your Command Line, it’s time to start using it. Since the Command Line is text-based, it can seem intimidating. Don’t worry though, it is pretty simple and the rewards for learning its commands will come back to you over and over.

You can start learning the command line in ourLearn the Command Linecourse. There, you’ll learn how to move through your computer’s file system, how to create files from the command line, and much more. As you learn more programming languages within Codecademy, check out the articles associated with them. We’ll teach you more language-specific commands, which will prepare you to build your very own programs.

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