Terminal / CLI

Command-Line Interface

In one sentenceThe text window where you type commands instead of clicking. Many of the most powerful AI coding agents live there.

What it means

The terminal (Terminal on Mac, PowerShell or Windows Terminal on Windows) lets you run programs by typing. A CLI is any program built to be used that way.

Claude Code, OpenAI's Codex and Gemini CLI are AI agents that run in the terminal. They can read your project files, run commands, install software, connect to servers over SSH and deploy apps, which is why builders love them.

How to use it

• You do not need to memorize commands. Ask the AI what a command does before it runs it, and read the explanation.
• Start AI agents inside a project folder so they only work on that project.
• Be careful with commands that delete or overwrite things; most agents ask before running them. Keep that setting on.

Related terms

SSH Harness Vibe Coding Git & GitHub