Don’t Fear the Command Line

If you’re a front-end developer, the command line might feel intimidating at first. Black screen, white text, no buttons, no friendly UI. But here’s the truth: learning just a handful of commands can make your life much easier.

You don’t need to becom…


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by A. Moreno

If you’re a front-end developer, the command line might feel intimidating at first. Black screen, white text, no buttons, no friendly UI. But here’s the truth: learning just a handful of commands can make your life much easier.

You don’t need to become a Linux wizard. You just need to know enough to move around, run scripts, and fix small issues without relying on your editor’s UI.

Isn't it Scary?

No. You'd be surprised! All you need is knowing the basics and some time to get familiar with the command line.

Here are a few essentials to start with:

  • cd project-folder → move into a folder
  • ls (or dir on Windows) → list the files in your current folder
  • npm install → install your project dependencies
  • git status → check what’s happening in your Git repo

Let’s put this together in a real-world example. Imagine you just cloned a project from GitHub:

    git clone https://github.com/username/project.git
    cd project
    npm install
    npm start

With just those four commands, you’ve downloaded the code, installed dependencies, and launched the project. No menus, no guessing, just speed.

The more you use the command line, the less scary it feels. Over time, you’ll realize it’s actually faster than clicking through endless menus — and you’ll start to prefer it.

Be Brave!

Don’t fear the command line. Learn a little, practice often, and soon it’ll feel like second nature.


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by A. Moreno


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