Command line interface: Daunting at the beginning, useful in the end

The command line interface (CLI) is a text-based way for users to interact with the operating system. This black window with white letters can look scary for those that never used it but everyone can easily master it within a couple of hours.

There are hundreds of tutorial on how to use the CLI. So, here we will focus on why one should learn to use it.

Before graphical user interfaces (GUIs), CLI was the only way to use a computer and is still one of the most useful tools in any computer savvy person's arsenal. Using the command line has a steep (but short) learning curve but provides many advantages. The CLI requires less resources allowing you to use more resources for intensive tasks. Using the CLI is more flexible, robust and much faster, granted that you know how to use it properly. In addition, a plethora of tools are available only through the CLI and you can access simply by typing the name of the tool (i.e. vim, git and brew). The last major advantage of the CLI is automation. You can combine a series of commands in a script and simply launch the script every time you want these commands to be carried out, transforming tasks that would take minutes to one-second-tasks.