The Terminal Isn't Scary: A Quick Command Reference

The terminal (Terminal) is that window with white text on a dark background. It might look like something out of a hacker movie the first time you see it, but really it's just another way to talk to your computer -- typing instead of clicking.

In Vibe Coding, you'll use the terminal to start projects, install dependencies, and run builds. The good news: you only need a handful of commands.

Opening the Terminal

Terminal window: command prompt and basic commands

Mac: Press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, hit Enter
Windows: Press Win + R, type cmd, hit Enter (we recommend installing Windows Terminal)
VS Code / Cursor: Press Ctrl + ` to open the built-in terminal

Once it's open, you'll see a blinking cursor waiting for your input.

In the terminal, you're always "standing" inside some folder. It's just like having a file manager open to a specific directory.

# See which directory you're currently in
pwd

# List files and folders in the current directory
ls

# Enter a folder
cd my-app

# Go back up one level
cd ..

# Jump to a specific path
cd ~/projects/my-app

cd is the command you'll use the most -- every time you open the terminal, the first thing you do is cd into your project directory.

Tip: Type the first few letters of a folder name and press Tab to autocomplete.

Package Managers: Installing and Running

Web projects use package managers to handle dependencies (third-party libraries). The common ones are npm, pnpm, and yarn -- their commands are mostly interchangeable.

Action	npm	pnpm
Install all dependencies	`npm install`	`pnpm install`
Start dev server	`npm run dev`	`pnpm dev`
Build for production	`npm run build`	`pnpm build`
Add a new dependency	`npm install axios`	`pnpm add axios`

The most common workflow:

# 1. Navigate to the project directory
cd my-app

# 2. Install dependencies (only needed the first time, or after package.json changes)
pnpm install

# 3. Start the dev server
pnpm dev

After running pnpm dev, the terminal will show a local address (usually http://localhost:3000). Open it in your browser to see your app.

Quick Reference for Common Tasks

What you want to do	Command
See what files are in the project	`ls`
Navigate to the project directory	`cd my-app`
Install dependencies	`pnpm install`
Start the dev server	`pnpm dev`
Stop a running command	`Ctrl + C`
Clear the terminal screen	`clear` or `Cmd + K`
Create a new folder	`mkdir my-folder`
Delete a file	`rm filename.txt`

Ctrl + C is especially important -- when the dev server is running, you need to press Ctrl + C to stop it before you can enter other commands.

When Things Go Wrong

Terminal errors are part of daily life. No need to stress. Here's how to handle the common ones:

command not found -- The command isn't installed. For example, pnpm: command not found means you haven't installed pnpm yet.

EACCES: permission denied -- Insufficient permissions. On Mac/Linux, add sudo before the command (it'll ask for your password).

node_modules acting up -- The universal fix: delete and reinstall.

rm -rf node_modules .next
pnpm install

Can't make sense of the error message? Copy the entire error and paste it to AI, then ask "What does this error mean and how do I fix it?" This is one of the most practical techniques in Vibe Coding.

Next Up

Version Control -- Use Git to manage code changes and roll back to any previous version