Learn the basic terminal commands to help you use Claude Coder effectively
Understanding basic terminal commands will help you navigate your file system, run programs like Claude Coder, and perform common tasks without using the graphical interface. Claude Coder runs in the terminal, so becoming comfortable with this environment will improve your experience.
pwd
Print working directory (shows your current location)
ls
List files and folders in the current directory
cd folder_name
Change directory to the specified folder
cd ..
Go up one level to the parent directory
cd ~
Go to your home directory
mkdir folder_name
Create a new directory (folder)
touch file.txt
Create a new empty file
cat file.txt
Display the contents of a file
cp file.txt copy.txt
Copy a file
mv file.txt newname.txt
Move or rename a file
rm file.txt
Delete a file (permanently, be careful!)
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Install Claude Coder globally
claude
Start Claude Coder in your current directory
claude --version
Check Claude Coder version
claude "your prompt here"
Run Claude Coder with a prompt
clear
Clear the terminal screen
↑ (up arrow)
Browse through previously used commands
Tab
Auto-complete commands or file names
Ctrl + C
Cancel/terminate the current operation
Understanding basic Command Prompt commands will help you navigate your file system, run programs like Claude Coder, and perform common tasks. For Windows users, we recommend using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) for the best Claude Coder experience, but these commands are useful regardless.
cd
Display current directory path
dir
List files and folders in the current directory
cd folder_name
Change directory to the specified folder
cd ..
Go up one level to the parent directory
cd %USERPROFILE%
Go to your user profile directory
mkdir folder_name
Create a new directory (folder)
type nul > file.txt
Create a new empty file
type file.txt
Display the contents of a file
copy file.txt copy.txt
Copy a file
ren file.txt newname.txt
Rename a file
del file.txt
Delete a file (permanently, be careful!)
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Install Claude Coder globally
claude
Start Claude Coder in your current directory
claude --version
Check Claude Coder version
claude "your prompt here"
Run Claude Coder with a prompt
cls
Clear the command prompt screen
↑ (up arrow)
Browse through previously used commands
Tab
Auto-complete commands or file names
Ctrl + C
Cancel/terminate the current operation