What is Terminal
The terminal is the window where a developer types text commands to the computer instead of clicking buttons.
In plain terms
A terminal shows a blinking cursor and waits for typed commands: run the tests, deploy the code, fetch a teammate’s changes. Developers keep one open next to their editor all day, because typing a command is often faster than clicking through menus and far easier to automate. Programs designed to be used this way are called command line tools, or CLIs.
What it tells you about a developer
Terminal comfort is baseline for professional developers. Heavy terminal work, like writing scripts that automate a team’s routine chores, points toward strength in infrastructure and DevOps.