Built-in Terminal

What is a Terminal?#

A terminal (also called "command line" or "shell") is a text-based way to control your computer. Instead of clicking buttons and icons, you type commands. While this might sound old-fashioned, many tasks are actually faster with a terminal — especially for developers and power users.

macOS comes with a separate app called Terminal.app. The problem is that you constantly have to switch back and forth between Finder and Terminal. Seiz eliminates this by building a terminal right into the file manager.

Opening the Terminal#

There are several ways to open the terminal panel in Seiz:

• Keyboard shortcut: Press ⌘T (Command + T)
• Command Bar: Press ⌘K, type "Terminal", and press Enter
• Menu: Go to View → Toggle Terminal

The terminal opens as a panel at the bottom of the current pane. It automatically starts in the same folder you're currently viewing — so you don't need to cd to the right place.

Closing the Terminal#

• Press ⌘T again to toggle it off.
• Type exit in the terminal and press Enter.
• Click the close button (×) on the terminal panel.

Automatic Directory Sync#

One of the best features of Seiz's built-in terminal is automatic directory sync. This means:

• When you navigate in the file pane (by opening a folder), the terminal automatically changes to that same folder. You'll see the terminal prompt update to show the new path.
• When you cd in the terminal (change directory by typing a command), the file pane updates to show the same folder. The sync works both ways.

This two-way sync means you're always looking at the same folder in both the visual file list and the terminal. No more getting confused about which directory you're in.

Shell Support#

A "shell" is the program that runs inside the terminal and interprets your commands. macOS uses zsh by default, but some people prefer other shells like bash or fish.

Seiz automatically uses whatever shell you have set as your default. It also loads your shell configuration files (like .zshrc, .bashrc, or config.fish), so all your aliases, custom functions, and environment variables work exactly as they do in Terminal.app or iTerm.

Terminal Features#

Seiz's terminal is a fully-featured terminal emulator, not a simplified version. Here's what it supports:

• Full color support — 256 colors and true color (16 million colors). Tools like ls with colored output, syntax highlighting, and terminal themes all work correctly.
• Mouse support — Terminal apps that use the mouse (like htop, vim, or tmux) work as expected.
• Copy and paste — Use the standard macOS shortcuts ⌘C to copy and ⌘V to paste. You can also select text with your mouse and right-click to copy.
• Resizable panel — Drag the divider between the file list and the terminal to make the terminal bigger or smaller.
• Multiple tabs — Open multiple terminal tabs within the same pane. Each tab can run a different command at the same time.
• Scrollback history — Scroll up to see previous output. The terminal keeps a long history so you can always go back and check what happened.

Common Terminal Commands#

If you're new to the terminal, here are a few basic commands to get you started:

• ls — List all files in the current folder
• cd folder-name — Change to a different folder
• mkdir new-folder — Create a new folder
• cp file.txt copy.txt — Copy a file
• mv file.txt new-name.txt — Rename or move a file
• rm file.txt — Delete a file (be careful — this skips the Trash!)
• open . — Open the current folder in Finder (useful if you need Finder for something specific)