20 Cool Command Line Tricks for Windows and macOS

The dictation line interface is a throwback to a more basic eld of computing . Before mouse pointers and program windows and desktop wallpaper , you would interact with your computer through simple text command typed into the mastery channel . It was more rudimentary , but it had an appealing simplicity to it .

now we launch programs with a double - click of an icon rather than a string of textbook , but the command railway line live on . It ’s called Command Prompt ( or the Windows Command Processor ) in Windows , and takes the form of Terminal in macOS . Windows also has a somewhat more powerful version of Command Prompt called PowerShell .

How to Pull Up the Command Line

In Windows , just typing “ cmd ” into the taskbar hunt box and hit Enter launch Command Prompt , but for some of these commands you need executive privilege . To get them , found Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc , then choose File and Run new labor . Enter “ cmd ” in the box , make indisputable admin privileges are ticked , and click OK . Use the “ | more ” fleur-de-lis after any dictation to see the final result a page at a meter ( that ’s the pipe character at the start , or append “ c : export.txt ” to beam the yield to a text data file , then change its name and emplacement as you like .

To set in motion the Terminal in macOS , open up up Spotlight with Cmd+Space and then type “ Terminal ” until it appears on screen — select it , run into Enter , and you ’re in . As with Windows , apply “ | more ” at the remnant of your command to go a page at a time through the results or responses , or “ > export.txt ” to deliver the resultant role in a text file in the current directory ( it default to the current user ’s directory ) .

Let ’s get started .