Folder tree and command line
A terminal below its folder tree: you see where you are, which way a path takes while you are still typing it, and what every command changes in the tree, in PowerShell and on a Mac.
What you will learn
In this demo you type commands into a terminal and see at the same time what they do in the folder tree. Afterwards you can:
- point to the place in the folder tree where you are for any prompt
- follow a relative or absolute path through the tree before you run it, with
..and~as well - predict what
cd,ls,mkdir,cp,mvandrmchange in the tree - trace an error message of the shell back to a wrong name or a wrong place
Goal: See what a command line otherwise hides: where you are, which way a path takes through the folder tree and what a command changes there. The commands and error messages are those of PowerShell on Windows and of the Terminal on a Mac; only the file system is made up, and it lives in your browser alone.
How to use: Type a command and press Enter, such as ls, cd Documents
or mkdir archive. While you type, the way of the path lights up in the tree,
and the line below describes it. A click on a folder writes the cd that leads
there, the Tab key completes names, and the arrow keys bring back earlier
commands. At the top you choose Windows or Mac. With "Predict" every command
waits for a second Enter before it shows what it did.
Details
- Level
- Beginner
- Modules
- Digitization and Programming
- In learning paths
- The command line
- Code
7342- Updated
- 2 November 2026
- Status
- published