Terminal without fear

Commands you will use every day

pwd                 # where am I
ls -la              # what is here
cd folder           # enter folder
mkdir project       # create folder
cat file.txt        # view a small file
code .              # open in editor if you use VS Code

Processes and ports

Many AI tools are local servers: Ollama on 11434, Next.js on 3000, n8n on 5678, Qdrant on 6333. When something fails, ask first: is the process alive and does the port answer?

curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags
lsof -i :3000
ps aux | grep ollama

60-second diagnosis

• Read the first real error, not only the last line.
• Check path, port, environment variable, and process.
• Repeat the smallest command outside the app.
• If you use Docker, remember that localhost inside a container is not always your machine.

Useful shortcuts

Ctrl+C cancels a process, arrow up recovers previous commands, and Tab autocompletes paths. It sounds small, but it saves hours when working with agents.