IDE, terminal, shell, editor
Beginner Core Git Git CLI VS Code UI IntelliJ UI
Why this matters
"Open a terminal", "run it in the shell", "just use the IDE". Four words, four different things, all used as if everyone knew. Once you can tell them apart, half of the instructions your colleagues give you become clear, and you can choose the tool that fits your work instead of the one that happens to be open.
The four tools
| Terminal | Shell | Editor | IDE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is a… | window | interpreter of commands | text tool | bundle |
| You use it to… | type commands | (you do not use it directly) | change files | change files, run, commit, all in one place |
| Examples | Terminal.app, Windows Terminal, Git Bash window | zsh, bash, PowerShell | VS Code, Notepad++, TextEdit | VS Code with extensions, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm |
VS Code sits on the line: it is an editor that becomes an IDE through extensions. Both VS Code and IntelliJ include a terminal panel, so you never need a separate window.
Which one should you use?
- Documentation and small edits: VS Code. Light, fast, excellent Markdown preview, good Git integration.
- Working next to developers who use IntelliJ: IntelliJ IDEA (Community edition is free). You will share the same views and vocabulary as your team.
- Running programs, checking results, reading errors: the terminal panel inside whichever IDE you use.
- Following instructions from a colleague or from this course: the terminal, because commands are exact and copyable.
You do not have to choose forever. Many people edit in VS Code and run commands in its terminal, and switch to IntelliJ for a project their team keeps there.
Find the terminal in your tool
Open the terminal application: Terminal in Applications/Utilities on macOS (or press ⌘+Space and type "Terminal"); Git Bash from the Start menu on Windows; Terminal or Ctrl+Alt+T on most Linux desktops. Then find out which shell answers, and whether Git is reachable:
$ echo $SHELL/bin/zsh$ git --versiongit version 2.50.1
On Windows, echo $SHELL in Git Bash prints /usr/bin/bash; in PowerShell the command is $PSVersionTable.PSVersion instead.
- Open a project folder with File → Open Folder….
- Press Ctrl+` (the backtick key, usually under Esc) or use View → Terminal. A terminal panel opens at the bottom, already inside your project folder.
- Type
git --versionand press Enter. - To open another one, click the + in the panel's toolbar. The dropdown next to it lets you pick the shell (zsh, bash, PowerShell, Git Bash).
- Open a project with File → Open….
- Press Alt+F12 (⌥F12 on macOS) or use View → Tool Windows → Terminal. The panel opens at the bottom, inside the project folder.
- Type
git --versionand press Enter. - The + tab opens a second terminal; the shell used is set in Settings → Tools → Terminal → Shell path.
GitLab is a website, not a tool on your computer, and it has no terminal for your files. Two related things exist: the Web IDE (an editor in the browser for quick documentation fixes, lesson 7.8) and, on some instances, a browser-based terminal for pipelines that this course does not use. Everything local happens in the Terminal, VS Code or IntelliJ tab.
GitHub is also a website. It offers github.dev (press . on a repository page to open a VS Code-like editor in the browser) and Codespaces (a full development machine in the cloud, with a terminal, which some companies pay for). For this course, use your own computer's terminal, VS Code or IntelliJ.
Do and don't
Do
- Learn one shortcut: the one that opens the terminal in your IDE.
- Run the course's Terminal commands inside the IDE's terminal if that feels safer; it is the same thing.
- Say which shell you use when you ask for help ("Git Bash on Windows", "zsh on macOS").
Don't
- Don't use the Windows
cmdwindow for this course; its commands differ. Use Git Bash or PowerShell. - Don't open a second terminal in another folder and wonder why
git statusfails; the terminal's folder is what matters. - Don't treat the IDE's buttons as a different Git; they run the same commands.
Common mistakes
git: command not foundin the IDE terminal but not in a separate window (or the other way round). The shells differ in where they look for programs. Lesson 3.6 fixes it.- Typing commands into the editor instead of the terminal. The editor saves them into a file; nothing runs. The terminal has a prompt (
$or>) and a blinking cursor at the bottom. - Copying the
$from the course into the terminal. The$marks the prompt and is not part of the command; the Copy button leaves it out.
Try it yourself
Goal: open the terminal inside your IDE and confirm which shell and which Git you have.
- Open the
trailguideplayground folder in VS Code or IntelliJ. - Open the integrated terminal with the shortcut from the tab above.
- Run
echo $SHELL(macOS, Linux, Git Bash) andgit --version.
Expected result: the shell path (for example /bin/zsh) and a Git version of 2.23 or higher.
Show solution
If git --version fails, Git is not installed or not on the path: go to Install Git. If the version is older than 2.23, update it; git switch and git restore, used throughout the course, need 2.23 or newer.