Getting started with the terminal

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What is the terminal?

The terminal (also called the command line, shell, or CLI) is a text-based interface for running commands on your computer. Many dbt tools — including Fusion, dbt Core, and the dbt Wizard CLI — run from the terminal.

You don't need to be a terminal expert to use dbt. This guide covers the basics.

Open the terminal

macOS

Option 1: Spotlight Press ⌘ Space, type Terminal, and press Enter.

Option 2: Applications folder Go to Applications → Utilities → Terminal.

Option 3: VS Code integrated terminal In VS Code, press ⌃` (Control + backtick) to open a terminal panel directly in your editor.

Windows

Option 1: Command Prompt or PowerShell Press Win + R, type cmd or powershell, and press Enter.

Option 2: Windows Terminal Search for "Terminal" in the Start menu. Windows Terminal supports Command Prompt, PowerShell, and WSL side by side.

Option 3: VS Code integrated terminal In VS Code, press Ctrl+` to open a terminal panel directly in your editor.

Using dbt on Windows?

dbt Core runs natively on Windows via PowerShell. For the best experience, consider using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux).

Linux

Open your distribution's terminal emulator — usually found in the applications menu, or press Ctrl + Alt + T on most desktop environments.

Navigate your file system

When the terminal opens, you're in a directory (folder). These commands help you move around:

Command	What it does	Example
pwd	Print the current directory	pwd → /Users/alice
ls	List files and folders (macOS/Linux)	ls
dir	List files and folders (Windows)	dir
cd <folder>	Change into a folder	cd my-dbt-project
cd ..	Go up one folder	cd ..
cd ~	Go to your home directory	cd ~

Loading table...

Tips:

• Press Tab to autocomplete folder and file names — saves a lot of typing.
• Press ↑ / ↓ to scroll through previous commands.
• Press Ctrl+C to cancel a running command.

Navigate to your dbt project

Your dbt project is a folder on your computer containing a dbt_project.yml file. Before running any dbt commands, navigate into that folder:

cd ~/path/to/your-dbt-project

Verify you're in the right place:

ls          # macOS/Linux — you should see dbt_project.yml
dir         # Windows

Run your first dbt command

After installing dbt, you can run your first dbt command to verify it's installed and working. Make sure you're in your project folder before running any dbt commands:

cd ~/path/to/your-dbt-project

Then run your first dbt command:

dbt --version

You should see output similar to the following:

dbt-fusion 2.0.0-preview.45

.... and that's it! Congrats, you're ready to start using dbt in the terminal! 🎉

Common issues

command not found The tool isn't installed or isn't on your PATH. Double-check the install instructions for dbt Core or dbt Wizard CLI.

Permission denied You may need to run the command with elevated permissions, or check that the file is executable.

Nothing happens after I type Make sure you pressed Enter after the command.

Next steps

• dbt Wizard quickstart — use the dbt Wizard CLI in your terminal
• Install dbt — set up dbt Fusion engine or dbt Core locally
• dbt commands reference — all available dbt CLI commands

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