Command Line

You’ll be using a command-line throughout the setup process.

Terminal or iTerm2

OS X comes with Terminal, which you can find at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app or by searching for Terminal in Spotlight.

Many Mac users prefer iTerm2 over the built-in Terminal. iTerm2 is free, so I encourage you to check it out. It has some advanced features that the built-in Terminal lacks.

Whichever you choose, you’ll use it frequently enough that I recommend keeping it in your Dock.

When you launch Terminal or iTerm, it will (by default) run a UNIX shell called Bash. Bash will present a command prompt, indicated by $.

ZSH

I am a big fan of ZSH, which is an alternative to Bash. Even better is Oh My ZSH, which is framework for managing ZSH configuration. I highly recommend checking it out. You’ll still use Terminal.app or iTerm2 to launch your shell, but it will run ZSH in place of Bash.

I will be using ZSH (with Oh My ZSH) in class, but most of what we’ll do works just as well in Bash.