PowerShell Introduction - Session 3

⏱️ 30 minutes

Welcome to the Command Line

PowerShell is like texting instructions to your computer instead of clicking through menus. It's faster, more powerful, and essential for running Claude Code!

🎯 Learning Objectives

Understand what PowerShell is and why it's useful
Open PowerShell on your computer
Navigate folders using text commands
Run your first PowerShell commands
Create project folders from command line

🤔 What is PowerShell?

PowerShell is a command-line interface - a way to control your computer by typing text commands instead of clicking buttons.

Think of it like this:

📱 Clicking menus = Driving with a steering wheel
⚡ PowerShell commands = Teleporting directly to your destination

Why Learn PowerShell?

Required for Claude Code: It's how we'll install and run AI development tools
Faster workflows: Do in 1 command what takes 10 clicks
Automation: Run scripts to automate repetitive tasks
Professional skill: Used by developers worldwide

🚀 Opening PowerShell

Windows: The Quick Way

Press Windows + X
Press A
Click "Yes" if asked for administrator permission

✅ PowerShell opens with administrator rights (recommended)

Windows: The Search Way

Click Start button
Type "PowerShell"
Right-click "Windows PowerShell"
Select "Run as Administrator"
Click "Yes" when prompted

Mac: Using Terminal

Press Cmd + Space
Type "Terminal"
Press Enter

Note: Mac uses Terminal instead of PowerShell. Commands are similar!

📝 Your First Commands

Let's practice basic navigation. Type these commands one at a time (press Enter after each):

Check PowerShell Version

$PSVersionTable

Shows your PowerShell version. Any version 5.0+ is great!

See Current Location

pwd

"Print Working Directory" - shows where you are in your file system

List Files

ls

Lists all files and folders in your current location

Create a New Folder

mkdir CoordinatorProjects

Makes a new folder called "CoordinatorProjects"

Move Into That Folder

cd CoordinatorProjects

"Change Directory" - moves you into the folder you just created

Check Your Location Again

pwd

You should now see you're inside CoordinatorProjects

✅ Success! If you completed all these commands, you've mastered basic PowerShell navigation!

💡 Essential PowerShell Commands

pwd - Show current location
ls - List files/folders
cd [folder] - Move into a folder
cd .. - Go up one level
mkdir [name] - Create new folder
cls - Clear the screen
exit - Close PowerShell

🎯 Practice Exercise

Create this folder structure using PowerShell commands:

cd Desktop mkdir AIProjects cd AIProjects mkdir tools mkdir projects ls

You should see two folders: tools and projects

✅ Topic Completion Checklist

✓ Understand what PowerShell is
✓ Successfully opened PowerShell
✓ Ran pwd, ls, mkdir, cd commands
✓ Created CoordinatorProjects folder
✓ Navigated between folders
✓ Completed practice exercise