How to Use the Command Line Interface

Last Updated: June 3, 2021

The command-line interface was used decades before the graphical user interface (GUI). However, its speed and versatility still make it a popular choice today.

Steps

1
Pick your command-line interface. MS-DOS, Powershell and Bash are popular.
2
Learn how to navigate directories and list contents.

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3
Learn how to manage files and directories. Creating, copying, moving, renaming, deleting. Midnight Commander is a command-line Orthodox File Manager.
4
Learn how to edit files with text editors.
5
Learn how to search. Grep is popular and powerful tool for searching for expressions within files.
- Use Regular Expressions.
6
Learn how to network. You can connect to the internet via the command-line.
7
Learn how to use multimedia software from the command-line.
8
Learn how to manage users. Adding, removing, changing passwords can be done via the command-line.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I get to a command prompt in Windows 10?

DarkWolf2244

Community Answer

There are multiple ways. You can press Win+R to open the Run dialog box. Inside it, enter "cmd" without the quotes, then press Enter. You can also search in the Start Menu for the Command Prompt application. You can even search "Command Prompt" in the Search Menu.