Never typed a command before? Start here.

The terminal is the text window programmers use to talk to their computer. It looks scary. It isn’t — and in about 10 minutes you’ll be using it.

What you’ll learn

• What the terminal is (and why it can’t “break” your PC)
• How to open it on Windows 11, Windows 10 and Mac
• What the “prompt” means and how to run a command
• The 5 commands everyone uses: cd, cd .., dir, mkdir, cls
• What an error looks like — and how to recover

What you get

• A step-by-step lesson with real screenshots of every command
• A 30-second explainer video
• A safe practice folder to try every command in
• A one-page cheat sheet to keep open while you practise

Who it’s for: complete beginners. No coding, no installs, nothing to buy.

Time: about 10 minutes.

Next lesson: What is Python?