The command line is a very powerful yet helpful tool, especially in the world of geeks. It gives you the ability to interact with your computer without the need for a graphical user interface. With the command line, you also unlock features you would not have access to with the graphical interface.
I bet you've heard people say, "you can only call yourself a real developer if you at least know how to use the command line." Of course, this differs from person to person, but it takes a step to emphasize how vital the Terminal is.
The command line works by issuing commands to the computer, and the computer, in turn, does whatever it is that you commanded it to do.
A couple of command lines are used for different operating systems. For example, On windows, we have the windows terminal that is configured to run the CMD, Powershell, SSH, WSL, etc. There is also a terminal on mac, and I need not say that Linux has one too.
These terminals work fine, but if you want to up your game, have more customizations, and have consistency between the different OS, we will install the Hyper Terminal.
Installing the Hyper Terminal on Windows
The Hyper terminal is a terminal built on web technologies with the aim of speed and stability. Hyper also provides users with a beautiful and extensible experience. You get to customize it, and you can also integrate it with multiple tools.
To Install the hyper Terminal, Follow the steps below:
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Click on the following link. https://hyper.is
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Once you are on the site, it will automatically detect which platform you are using, so Click on download, and it will save on your computer.
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Open the directory where the setup is saved and double-click on it.
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You will be taken to the installation wizard. Click on install, and you are done.
The Hyper terminal will be installed on your computer, and you can start using it immediately by running the application.
You can stop at this point, but we can take it a step further by configuring it with GIT Bash if you care about version control and all the benefits that Git has.
Git Installation
We will start by installing Git because it comes with git bash, which allows us to use bash to interact with the command line.
To install Git, follow the steps below.
- Follow the link: https://git-scm.com
- Head to downloads and choose windows to download it for your system.
- Double-click on the .exe file and proceed with the installation wizard.
- Make sure you check on git bash and leave the rest of the default options.
- Click on install, and it will be installed on your machine.
Once it is installed. I recommend restarting your machine.
Configuring Hyper with GIT Bash
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Open the hyper Terminal and navigate to:
file > edit > preferences
This will open hyper configurations.
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Delete everything on that page and paste the configurations below.
module.exports = { config: { // default font size in pixels for all tabs fontSize: 12, // font family with optional fallbacks fontFamily: 'Menlo, "DejaVu Sans Mono", Consolas, "Lucida Console", monospace', // terminal cursor background color and opacity (hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, hwb or cmyk) cursorColor: 'rgba(248,28,229,0.8)', // `BEAM` for |, `UNDERLINE` for _, `BLOCK` for █ cursorShape: 'BLOCK', // color of the text foregroundColor: '#fff', // terminal background color backgroundColor: '#000', // border color (window, tabs) borderColor: '#333', // custom css to embed in the main window css: '', // custom css to embed in the terminal window termCSS: '', // set to `true` (without backticks) if you're using a Linux setup that doesn't show native menus // default: `false` on Linux, `true` on Windows (ignored on macOS) showHamburgerMenu: '', // set to `false` if you want to hide the minimize, maximize and close buttons // additionally, set to `'left'` if you want them on the left, like in Ubuntu // default: `true` on windows and Linux (ignored on macOS) showWindowControls: '', // custom padding (css format, i.e.: `top right bottom left`) padding: '12px 14px', // the full list. if you're going to provide the full color palette, // including the 6 x 6 color cubes and the grayscale map, just provide // an array here instead of a color map object colors: { black: '#000000', red: '#ff0000', green: '#33ff00', yellow: '#ffff00', blue: '#0066ff', magenta: '#cc00ff', cyan: '#00ffff', white: '#d0d0d0', lightBlack: '#808080', lightRed: '#ff0000', lightGreen: '#33ff00', lightYellow: '#ffff00', lightBlue: '#0066ff', lightMagenta: '#cc00ff', lightCyan: '#00ffff', lightWhite: '#ffffff' }, // the shell to run when spawning a new session (i.e. /usr/local/bin/fish) // if left empty, your system's login shell will be used by default // make sure to use a full path if the binary name doesn't work // (e.g `C:\\Windows\\System32\\bash.exe` instad of just `bash.exe`) // if you're using powershell, make sure to remove the `--login` below shell: 'C:\\Program Files\\Git\\git-cmd.exe', // for setting shell arguments (i.e. for using interactive shellArgs: ['-i']) // by default ['--login'] will be used shellArgs: ['--command=usr/bin/bash.exe', '-l', '-i'], // for environment variables env: { TERM: 'cygwin'}, // set to false for no bell bell: 'SOUND', // if true, selected text will automatically be copied to the clipboard copyOnSelect: false // if true, on right click selected text will be copied or pasted if no // selection is present (true by default on Windows) // quickEdit: true // URL to custom bell // bellSoundURL: 'http://example.com/bell.mp3', // for advanced config flags please refer to https://hyper.is/#cfg }, // a list of plugins to fetch and install from npm // format: [@org/]project[#version] // examples: // `hyperpower` // `@company/project` // `project#1.0.1` plugins: [], // in development, you can create a directory under // `~/.hyper_plugins/local/` and include it here // to load it and avoid it being `npm install`ed localPlugins: [] };
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Once you are done, save the file and hyper configurations will be updated.
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Close hyper and re-open it again for the changes we have made to take effect.
You are all done. You can confirm that everything works fine by opening a hyper window and typing:
echo $SHELL
Output:
/usr/bin/bash
If you see the following output, pat yourself on the back. The whole process was successful.
Ending ...
With the following guide, you get to install the hyper Terminal, which gives you all the customizations you need. Did you install the hyper Terminal. Comment below and tell us your experience so far.
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Until next time, Salute!