CS4 Guide to Running Python from Terminal
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 The Terminal Window 1
3 Opening the Terminal 2
3.1 Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.2 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.3 Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4 Navigating the Terminal 2
5 Using Python with the Terminal 2
5.1 Opening a Python Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5.2 Running a Python Program from Terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1 Introduction
Below are instructions on using Python from the terminal window on both your local machine (Windows/Mac) as
well as the department machines (Linux). Much of this document is copied with permission from Harvey Mudd
College CS5 Lab 0. We recommend you read through this document in full to gain a better understanding of
how to best utilize the terminal of the machine on which you are working. For even more information, consult
the Sunlab New User Orientation presentation that you saw at the account creation session. If you have
any questions, post them to Piazza!
2 The Terminal Window
Most of our interactions with computers are through the windows provided by the OS. "OS," short for Operat-
ing System, is usually either Windows or Mac OS, although there are many others, flavors of Linux being the
most common. The CS department machines run a Linux OS.
Although working through the click-and-drag interface of an OS is great, the OS disconnects users from the
underlying interactions among their device’s files. It’s a useful and very flexible skill to have a clear picture of
how files are being used, and to be familiar with them underneath the windowing system. Feeling comfortable
around the command line will come in handy for a lot of pathways that create computation (not only consuming
it, which the OS handles brilliantly!)
So, to pull back the OS "curtain," we will now instruct you on how to open and utilize your machine’s (or
the department machine’s) terminal.
This goes by many names:
• The terminal
• The shell
• The command line
1
3 Opening the Terminal
3.1 Linux
To open a terminal on a Linux OS in the CS department labs, simply log in with your CS account and click
"Applications" in the top left corner of the desktop. From the menu that appears, select "System Tools" and
then "Terminal". You should see the prompt: machinename ~$. Not that the ~ symbol means that you are
currently in your personal home directory.
3.2 Windows
To open a terminal on a Windows OS, open the Start menu, type "cmd" and then hit "Enter". You should see
the prompt: C:\User\Owner>
3.3 Mac
To open a terminal on a Mac OS, use Spotlight to find the application named "Terminal" (using your search
bar). You should see the prompt: machinename yourname $
4 Navigating the Terminal
To navigate the terminal, you can use the following commands:
Linux Windows Mac
Return to your home directory cd
Change directory to make <dir> your current directory cd <dir> cd <dir> cd <dir>
Move "up" one directory to the parent directory cd .. cd .. cd ..
List the contents of the current directory ls dir ls
List the contents of the directory in a long format, showing times- ls -l dir ls -l
tamp, size, and other file info.
Display the full path of the current directory; stands for "print pwd cd pwd
working directory"
• Hitting the up-arrow will bring back previous commands, both in Python and in the shell
• The terminal has "Tab Completion"; if you begin typing and hit the "Tab" key, the command-line will
try and finish your statement (hitting the tab key multiple times will cycle through the likely options)
5 Using Python with the Terminal
5.1 Opening a Python Shell
To open a Python shell (as was done in HW00), you must:
• Linux: type python into the command line; NOTE: on department machines you must type python3
• Windows: type python into the command line
• Mac: type python3 into the command line
You should see the Python header appear: Python 3.5.2 : Anaconda 4.2.0, etc.. Ensure that you
are running the correct version of Python (at least Python 3). If you are on a Mac you can also check the
version you are running by typing python3 -version in Terminal. You will then see the shell prompt >>>
indicating that you are in the Python shell. To exit the python shell, simply enter exit().
2
5.2 Running a Python Program from Terminal
Once you have written and saved a Python program (using Atom or another text editor), open a terminal to run
the code. Make sure that the file is saved with the .py extension (i.e. example_file.py). We recommend
having both the text editor and the terminal open while working to make things easier. The recommended
screen layout for all of your windows is shown below, with the terminal in the bottom right, text editor in the
top right, and web browser on the left.
Once your program has been saved, use the terminal to navigate to the directory containing the python file.
To navigate to this directory, use the commands outlined in Section 4. Once in the proper directory, run the
command:
python <[Link]>
NOTE: On department machines you should use python3.
For example:
python example_file.py
NOTE: On department machines this example would read:
python3 example_file.py
The code within the Python file will then be executed, with any print statements or errors displaying in the
terminal.