CLI Starter Course
🖥️ CLI Starter Course
Welcome! This course will take you from zero CLI experience to being comfortable in the terminal — on Mac (Terminal / zsh), Windows (Git Bash), or an Android tablet (Termux).
By the end you will be able to:
- ✅ Navigate your file system entirely from the command line
- ✅ Create, move, copy and delete files and folders without a mouse
- ✅ Bootstrap a brand-new web project with Git and npm
- ✅ Deploy a personal portfolio website to GitHub Pages
📚 Course Lessons
| # | Lesson | What you’ll learn |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLI Basics | Open a terminal, understand the prompt, run your first commands |
| 2 | Navigation & File Operations | cd, ls/dir, mkdir, touch/echo, cp, mv, rm |
| 3 | Bootstrap a Project | git init, npm init, project structure best practices |
| 4 | Create Your Portfolio | Build and deploy a personal site with GitHub Pages |
| 📱 | Android Tablet (Termux & Acode) | Set up a full CLI environment on Android — no PC required |
⚡ Quick Reference Card
| Goal | Mac / Git Bash command |
|---|---|
| Print working directory | pwd |
| List files | ls (ls -la for details) |
| Change directory | cd folder-name |
| Go up one level | cd .. |
| Make a directory | mkdir my-folder |
| Create an empty file | touch file.txt |
| Remove a file | rm file.txt |
| Remove a folder | rm -rf folder/ |
| Copy a file | cp src.txt dest.txt |
| Move / rename | mv old.txt new.txt |
| Display file contents | cat file.txt |
| Clear the terminal | clear |
🛠️ Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have these tools installed:
| Tool | Mac | Windows | Android (Termux) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal / Shell | Built-in — search Terminal in Spotlight | Install Git Bash via Git for Windows ↗ | Install Termux from F-Droid ↗ (not the Play Store) |
| Git | Included with Xcode Command Line Tools (git --version to prompt install) |
Included with Git for Windows ↗ | pkg install git in Termux |
| Node.js & npm | Download LTS from nodejs.org ↗ | Download LTS from nodejs.org ↗ | pkg install nodejs in Termux |
| GitHub account | Sign up free at github.com ↗ | Sign up free at github.com ↗ | Sign up free at github.com ↗ |
💡 Not sure if something is already installed? Open your terminal and run
git --version,node -v, andnpm -v. If a version number appears, you’re good to go!
📱 On an Android tablet? See the Android Tablet (Termux & Acode) setup guide for step-by-step instructions.
🗂️ Practice Files
Lesson 2 requires real files to practice commands like cat, grep, cp, mv, and rm.
Download only the exercise files (no course source code) in one command:
npx degit ZEZE1020/cli-starter/practice cli-practice
cd cli-practice
💡
npxships with Node.js. Full instructions and a self-setup alternative are at the top of Lesson 2.
💡 Tip: Every lesson includes side-by-side examples for Mac and Windows (Git Bash). The commands are almost identical — differences are clearly called out.