Visual Studio Code has a powerful command line interface built-in that lets you control how you launch the editor. You can open files, install extensions, change the display language, and output diagnostics through command-line options (switches).
- How To Create A File In Terminal Windows
- How To Create A Text File In Terminal
- How To Create A File In Terminal
- Create A File In Linux
- How To Create A New File In Terminal
- Creating And Deleting Files Using The Mac Terminal - TechRepublic
- How To Create A File In Terminal
To use the command line to create a new, blank text file, press Ctrl + Alt + T to open a Terminal window. Type the following command and press Enter. Change the path and the file name (/Documents/TextFiles/MyTextFile.txt) to what you want to use. How do you create a new file in Unix? Open a Finder window and navigate to your Documents folder. Type cd and drag the Documents folder onto the Terminal window. Now, type mkdir 'TerminalTest' Go back to the Finder, open Text Edit and create a new file called 'TerminalTestFile.rtf'. May 28, 2019 To create a file called sourcecode.zip containing all the C source code files and header files in the current directory, you would use this command: zip sourcecode.c.h Each file is listed as it’s added. The name of the file and the amount of compression that was achieved on that file is shown. However you may also use echo if you want to create and write to the file right away. The following command tells to create bar.txt and put foo inside of it. Echo foo bar.txt You may also use which appends to an existing file. The following command puts bar at the end of bar.txt, in a other words, bar will display after foo inside bar.txt. Somecommand /path/to/file for a file containing the output of some command. Eg: grep -help randomtext.txt; echo 'This is some text' randomtext.txt; nano /path/to/file or vi /path/to/file (or any other editor emacs,gedit etc) It will open the existing file for editing or creates & opens an empty file to enter, if it doesn't exist.
If you are looking for how to run command-line tools inside VS Code, see the Integrated Terminal.
Command line help
To get an overview of the VS Code command line interface, open a terminal or command prompt and type
code --help
. You will see the version, usage example, and list of command line options.Launching from command line
You can launch VS Code from the command line to quickly open a file, folder, or project. Typically, you open VS Code within the context of a folder. To do this, from an open terminal or command prompt, navigate to your project folder and type
code .
:Note: Users on macOS must first run a command (Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH) to add VS Code executable to the
PATH
environment variable. Read the macOS setup guide for help.Windows and Linux installations should add the VS Code binaries location to your system path. If this isn't the case, you can manually add the location to the
Path
environment variable ($PATH
on Linux). For example, on Windows, VS Code is installed under AppDataLocalProgramsMicrosoft VS Codebin
. To review platform specific setup instructions, see Setup.Insiders: If you are using the VS Code Insiders preview, you launch your Insiders build with
code-insiders
.Core CLI options
Here are optional arguments you can use when starting VS Code at the command line via
code
:Argument | Description |
---|---|
-h or --help | Print usage |
-v or --version | Print VS Code version (for example, 1.22.2), GitHub commit id, and architecture (for example, x64). |
-n or --new-window | Opens a new session of VS Code instead of restoring the previous session (default). |
-r or --reuse-window | Forces opening a file or folder in the last active window. |
-g or --goto | When used with file:line[:character], opens a file at a specific line and optional character position. This argument is provided since some operating systems permit : in a file name. |
-d or --diff | Open a file difference editor. Requires two file paths as arguments. |
-w or --wait | Wait for the files to be closed before returning. |
--locale <locale> | Set the display language (locale) for the VS Code session. (for example, en-US or zh-TW ) |
Opening Files and Folders
Sometimes you will want to open or create a file. If the specified file does not exist, VS Code will create them for you along with any new intermediate folders:
For both files and folders, you can use absolute or relative paths. Relative paths are relative to the current directory of the command prompt where you run
code
.If you specify more than one file at the command line, VS Code will open only a single instance.
If you specify more than one folder at the command line, VS Code will create a Multi-root Workspace including each folder.
Argument | Description |
---|---|
file | Name of a file to open. If the file doesn't exist, it will be created and marked as edited. You can specify multiple files by separating each file name with a space. |
file:line[:character] | Used with the -g argument. Name of a file to open at the specified line and optional character position. You can specify multiple files in this manner, but you must use the -g argument (once) before using the file:line[:character] specifier. |
folder | Name of a folder to open. You can specify multiple folders and a new Multi-root Workspace is created. |
Working with extensions
You can install and manage VS Code extensions from the command line.
Argument | Description |
---|---|
--install-extension <ext> | Install an extension. Provide the full extension name publisher.extension as an argument. Use --force argument to avoid prompts. |
--uninstall-extension <ext> | Uninstall an extension. Provide the full extension name publisher.extension as an argument. |
--disable-extensions | Disable all installed extensions. Extensions will still be visible in the Disabled section of the Extensions view but they will never be activated. |
--list-extensions | List the installed extensions. |
--show-versions | Show versions of installed extensions, when using --list-extensions |
--enable-proposed-api <ext> | Enables proposed api features for an extension. Provide the full extension name publisher.extension as an argument. |
Advanced CLI options
There are several CLI options that help with reproducing errors and advanced setup.
Argument | Description |
---|---|
--extensions-dir <dir> | Set the root path for extensions. Has no effect in Portable Mode. |
--user-data-dir <dir> | Specifies the directory that user data is kept in, useful when running as root. Has no effect in Portable Mode. |
-s, --status | Print process usage and diagnostics information. |
-p, --performance | Start with the Developer: Startup Performance command enabled. |
--disable-gpu | Disable GPU hardware acceleration. |
--verbose | Print verbose output (implies --wait ). |
--prof-startup | Run CPU profiler during startup. |
--upload-logs | Uploads logs from current session to a secure endpoint. |
Multi-root | |
--add <dir> | Add folder(s) to the last active window for a multi-root workspace. |
Opening VS Code with URLs
You can also open projects and files using the platform's URL handling mechanism. Use the following URL formats to:
Open a project
Open a file
Open a file to line and column
You can use the URL in applications such as browsers or file explorers that can parse and redirect the URL. For example, on Windows, you could pass a
vscode://
URL directly to the Windows Explorer or to the command line as start vscode://{full path to file}
.Note: If you are using VS Code Insiders builds, the URL prefix is
vscode-insiders://
.Next steps
Read on to find out about:
How To Create A File In Terminal Windows
- Integrated Terminal - Run command-line tools from inside VS Code.
- Basic Editing - Learn the basics of the VS Code editor.
- Code Navigation - VS Code lets you quickly understand and move through your source code.
Common questions
How To Create A Text File In Terminal
'code' is not recognized as an internal or external command
How To Create A File In Terminal
Your OS cannot find the VS Code binary
code
on its path. The VS Code Windows and Linux installations should have installed VS Code on your path. Try uninstalling and reinstalling VS Code. If code
is still not found, consult the platform specific setup topics for Windows and Linux.On macOS, you need to manually run the Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command (available through the Command Palette⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P)). Consult the macOS specific setup topic for details.
How do I get access to a command line (terminal) from within VS Code?
VS Code has an Integrated Terminal where you can run command-line tools from within VS Code.
Can I specify the settings location for VS Code in order to have a portable version?
Not directly through the command line, but VS Code has a Portable Mode which lets you keep settings and data in the same location as your installation, for example, on a USB drive.
The Terminal app allows you to control your Mac using a command prompt. Why would you want to do that? Well, perhaps because you’re used to working on a command line in a Unix-based system and prefer to work that way. Terminal is a Mac command line interface. There are several advantages to using Terminal to accomplish some tasks — it’s usually quicker, for example. In order to use it, however, you’ll need to get to grips with its basic commands and functions. Once you’ve done that, you can dig deeper and learn more commands and use your Mac’s command prompt for more complex, as well as some fun, tasks.
Curated Mac apps that keep your Mac’s performance under control. Avoid Terminal commands, avoid trouble.
Download FreeHow to open Terminal on Mac
The Terminal app is in the Utilities folder in Applications. To open it, either open your Applications folder, then open Utilities and double-click on Terminal, or press Command - spacebar to launch Spotlight and type 'Terminal,' then double-click the search result.
You’ll see a small window with a white background open on your desktop. In the title bar are your username, the word 'bash' and the dimensions of the window in pixels. Bash stands for 'Bourne again shell'. There are a number of different shells that can run Unix commands, and on the Mac Bash is the one used by Terminal.
If you want to make the window bigger, click on the bottom right corner and drag it outwards. If you don’t like the black text on a white background, go to the Shell menu, choose New Window and select from the options in the list.
If Terminal feels complicated or you have issues with the set-up, let us tell you right away that there are alternatives. MacPilot allows to get access to over 1,200 macOS features without memorizing any commands. Basically, a third-party Terminal for Mac that acts like Finder.
For Mac monitoring features, try iStat Menus. The app collects data like CPU load, disk activity, network usage, and more — all of which accessible from your menu bar.
Basic Mac commands in Terminal
The quickest way to get to know Terminal and understand how it works is to start using it. But before we do that, it’s worth spending a little time getting to know how commands work. To run a command, you just type it at the cursor and hit Return to execute.
Every command is made up of three elements: the command itself, an argument which tells the command what resource it should operate on, and an option that modifies the output. So, for example, to move a file from one folder to another on your Mac, you’d use the move command 'mv' and then type the location of the file you want to move, including the file name and the location where you want to move it to.
Let’s try it.
- Type cd ~/Documentsthen and press Return to navigate to your Home folder.
- Type lsthen Return (you type Return after every command).
You should now see a list of all the files in your Documents folder — ls is the command for listing files.
To see a list of all the commands available in Terminal, hold down the Escape key and then press y when you see a question asking if you want to see all the possibilities. To see more commands, press Return.
Unix has its own built-in manual. So, to learn more about a command type man [name of command] Starcraft playstation 2. , where 'command' is the name of the command you want find out more about.
Terminal rules
There are a few things you need to bear in mind when you’re typing commands in Terminal, or any other command-line tool. Firstly, every character matters, including spaces. So when you’re copying a command you see here, make sure you include the spaces and that characters are in the correct case.
You can’t use a mouse or trackpad in Terminal, but you can navigate using the arrow keys. If you want to re-run a command, tap the up arrow key until you reach it, then press Return. To interrupt a command that’s already running, type Control-C.
Commands are always executed in the current location. So, if you don’t specify a location in the command, it will run wherever you last moved to or where the last command was run. Use the cdcommand, followed by a directory path, like in Step 1 above, to specify the folder where you want a command to run.
There is another way to specify a location: go to the Finder, navigate to the file or folder you want and drag it onto the Terminal window, with the cursor at the point where you would have typed the path.
Here’s another example. This time, we’ll create a new folder inside your Documents directory and call it 'TerminalTest.'
- Open a Finder window and navigate to your Documents folder.
- Type cd and drag the Documents folder onto the Terminal window.
- The unarchiver pc. Now, type mkdir 'TerminalTest'
Go back to the Finder, open Text Edit and create a new file called 'TerminalTestFile.rtf'. Now save it to the TerminalTest folder in your Documents folder.
In the Terminal window, type cd ~/Documents/TerminalTest then Return. Now type lsand you should see 'TerminalTestFile' listed.
To change the name of the file, type this, pressing Return after every step:
- cd~/Documents/Terminal Test
- mv TerminalTestFile TerminalTestFile2.rtf
That will change the name of the file to 'TerminalTestFile2'. You can, of course, use any name you like. The mv command means 'move' and you can also use it to move files from one directory to another. In that case, you’d keep the file names the same, but specify another directory before typing the the second instance of the name, like this:
mv ~/Documents/TerminalTest TerminalTestFile.rtf ~/Documents/TerminalTest2 TerminalTestFile.rtf
More advanced Terminal commands
Create A File In Linux
Terminal can be used for all sorts of different tasks. Some of them can be performed in the Finder, but are quicker in Terminal. Others access deep-rooted parts of macOS that aren’t accessible from the Finder without specialist applications. Here are a few examples.
Copy files from one folder to another
- In a Terminal window, type ditto [folder 1] [folder 1] where 'folder 1' is the folder that hosts the files and 'folder 2' is the folder you want to move them to.
- To see the files being copied in the Terminal window, type -v after the command.
Download files from the internet
You’ll need the URL of the file you want to download in order to use Terminal for this.
- cd ~/Downloads/
- curl -O [URL of file you want to download]
If you want to download the file to a directory other than your Downloads folder, replace ~/Downloads/ with the path to that folder, or drag it onto the Terminal window after you type the cd command.
Change the default location for screenshots
If you don’t want macOS to save screenshots to your Desktop when you press Command-Shift-3, you can change the default location in Terminal
- defaults write com.apple.screencapture location [path to folder where you want screenshots to be saved]
- Hit Return
- killall SystemUIServer
- Hit Return
Change the default file type for screenshots
By default, macOS saves screenshots as .png files. To change that to .jpg, do this:
- defaults write com.apple.screencapture type JPG
- Press Return
- killall SystemUIServer
- Press Return
How To Create A New File In Terminal
Delete all files in a folder
The command used to delete, or remove, files in Terminal is rm. So, for example, if you wanted to remove a file in your Documents folder named 'oldfile.rtf' you’d use cd ~/Documents to go to your Documents folder then to delete the file. As it stands, that will delete the file without further intervention from you. If you want to confirm the file to be deleted, use -i as in rm -i oldfile.rtf
To delete all the files and sub-folders in a directory named 'oldfolder', the command is rm -R oldfolder and to confirm each file should be deleted, rm -iR oldfolder
Creating And Deleting Files Using The Mac Terminal - TechRepublic
Just because you can use Terminal to delete files on your Mac, doesn’t mean you should. It’s a relatively blunt instrument, deleting only those files and folders you specify.
Another way to free up space
If your goal in removing files or folders is to free up space on your Mac, or to remove junk files that are causing your Mac to run slowly, it’s far better to use an app designed for the purpose. CleanMyMac X is one such app.
How To Create A File In Terminal
It will scan your Mac for files and recommend which ones you can delete safely, as well as telling you how much space you’ll save. And once you’ve decided which files to delete, you can get rid of them in a click. You can download CleanMyMac here.
As you can see, while Terminal may look scary and seem like it’s difficult to use, it really isn’t. The key is learning a few commands, such as those we’ve outlined above, and getting to know the syntax for those commands.
However, you should be careful when using Terminal, it’s a powerful tool that has deep access to your Mac’s system files. Check commands by googling them if you’re not sure what they do. And if you need to delete files to save space, use an app like CleanMyMac X to do it. It’s much safer!