Terminal basics for vibe coders: read before you approve

When you give a coding agent a task, it communicates with your machine through the terminal. Therefore, it's essential to understand the basics of terminal commands before approving any command your agent wants to execute. Deleting files or entire folders with rm -rf is permanent and irreversible, as there is no recycle bin in the terminal. Always double-check the exact path of the file or folder you intend to delete and ask why the command is reading or changing files outside your project folder.

When working with a coding agent, it's crucial to start from your project folder, as the agent treats the folder you launch it in as its workspace. Avoid running an agent with the --dangerously-skip-permissions option on your real machine, as it lacks the ability to differentiate between private and public files and won't ask before reading them.

To effectively work with the terminal, you should be proficient in basic Bash commands. Understanding these commands will enable you to read and review the commands your agent wants to run before approving them. This section will cover the most important commands, red flags indicating potential issues, and how to inspect unfamiliar commands safely.

The terminal is the interface where coding agents like Claude Code and Codex operate. It's essential to learn enough Bash to read and comprehend the commands your agent intends to execute, ensuring your machine remains secure and functions as expected.