How to Open a Terminal Window in Mac

Co-authored by Ken Colburn

Last Updated: September 9, 2022 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to open the Terminal utility on Mac, which provides Mac users with a way to access and adjust settings of the operating system with text-based commands.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using Finder

1
Click the Finder icon in your dock. It's a square icon with a half-light blue and half-dark blue smiley face.
- Alternatively, simply click on your desktop wallpaper.
2
Click Go in the menu bar. It's at the top of the screen.

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3
Click Utilities.
- Alternatively, you can press ⇧ Shift+⌘+U.
4
Scroll down and double-click Terminal in the Utilities window. A terminal window will open.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Spotlight

1
Click the Spotlight icon. It's the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Alternatively, you can press ⌘+space.
2
Start typing terminal in the search field. Do so until the Terminal icon appears.
3
Double-click Terminal. A terminal window will open.

Community Q&A

Question

What's the use for spotlight?

Nuclearblowout

Community Answer

Spotlight is used mainly for finding apps quickly. It is much faster then the dock and to use it, just press command and space.
Question

How do you find uninstalled apps?

Community Answer

You can find uninstalled apps that you purchased from the App Store by going clicking on your profile picture in the bottom left corner of the App Store and then by seeing purchases.
Question

Terminal opens at login, how do I change this to make it stop?

Community Answer

It looks like you have it in Login items to startup on boot. To fix this, open System Preferences, then Users, then choose the User you log into, then Login items. It will display a bunch of apps. To change it, first click on bottom left padlock and enter password to be able to edit settings. Next, select Terminal and/or other apps and press the "-" sign just below the box. That's it. Try restarting and check.