You may have seen it as the mysterious window full of random words and code that hackers use in movies and TV shows such as Mr. Robot, but it’s much simpler than that.
At the very core, the Command Line is a “text-based application for viewing, handling, and manipulating files on your computer” as outlined by this Django Girls tutorial. It is basically the the same thing as the “Finder” folder on your computer where all your directories and files are stored, but without the visual “Graphic User Interface (GUI)” icon.
So why use it?
Sure, it may be more intuitive to click on a folder on the desktop rather than going into the Command Line, but if you have a cluttered desktop like me, sometimes this is easier said than done. Unless you’re a very slow typer, it can be much quicker to find the file or directory you’re looking for with a few keystrokes rather than scrolling/clicking through with your mouse or trackpad to find it. Once you become familiar with the commands, this process becomes even faster. Here is an example chart of some basic commands from the same Django Girls tutorial-
Trisha T. 