linux command-line

Terminal

terminal console command-line cli linux
Plain English

A terminal is the text window you type commands into. It is how people control computers without clicking through menus. The terminal itself just shows text and sends your keystrokes along; the shell running inside it is what does the work. On Ubuntu you open one with Ctrl+Alt+T.

Technical Definition

A terminal (terminal emulator) is a program that emulates a hardware text terminal, a keyboard and screen attached to a computer. It passes keystrokes to a pseudo-terminal (PTY) and renders the output, including colors and cursor movement through escape sequences.

Examples: GNOME Terminal and Ptyxis on Ubuntu, Konsole, Alacritty, kitty, Windows Terminal, macOS Terminal and iTerm2.

Related terms:

  • Console: the system’s primary terminal; on Linux, virtual consoles on Ctrl+Alt+F1 to F6 (/dev/tty1 and up)
  • TTY: from teletypewriter; any terminal device. tty prints yours.
  • CLI: command-line interface, the style of interaction
  • SSH session: a terminal connected to a shell on a remote machine

Essential keys:

  • Tab: complete commands and paths
  • Ctrl+C: interrupt the running command
  • Ctrl+D: end input or log out
  • Ctrl+L: clear the screen
  • Ctrl+R: search history
  • Ctrl+Shift+C / Ctrl+Shift+V: copy and paste (plain Ctrl+C interrupts)

Multiplexers such as tmux keep sessions alive after you disconnect, which matters on remote servers.

Source: Ubuntu: The Linux command line for beginners

Terminal basics 

# Which terminal device am I on?
$ tty
/dev/pts/0

# Who is logged in, and on which terminals?
$ who
george   tty2    2026-11-01 09:02
george   pts/0   2026-11-01 09:15 (192.168.1.20)

# A persistent session that survives disconnects
$ sudo apt install tmux
$ tmux new -s work     # detach with Ctrl+B then D
$ tmux attach -t work
In the Wild

The terminal is where you will spend most of your time as a Linux admin, locally and over SSH. Learn the keyboard shortcuts early, because they save hours. If a long job matters, run it inside tmux so a dropped Wi-Fi connection does not kill it. When a graphical desktop freezes, switching to a virtual console with Ctrl+Alt+F3 often gives you a working terminal to fix it.

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