The fastest way to open Terminal in a specific folder: right-click the folder in Finder, hold Option, and click "New Terminal at Folder."

But wait - you need to enable this first.

Enable "New Terminal at Folder"

1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS)
2. Go to Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services
3. Find "New Terminal at Folder" under Files and Folders
4. Check the box to enable it

Now you can right-click any folder, go to Services (or hold Option), and click "New Terminal at Folder."

From Terminal: Open Here in Finder

If you're already in Terminal and want to open Finder at your current location:

open .

The dot means "current directory." Finder opens right where you are.

Drag and Drop

You can drag a folder from Finder directly into an open Terminal window. This types the folder path for you.

So instead of typing:

cd /Users/yourname/Projects/my-long-project-name

Just type cd (with a space), then drag the folder in. Terminal fills in the path.

Use cd with Tab Completion

From Terminal, use cd with tab completion:

cd ~/Pro<TAB>

Press Tab to autocomplete. If there are multiple matches, press Tab twice to see options.

Go Directly to a Folder When Opening Terminal

You can configure Terminal to start in a specific folder:

1. Open Terminal
2. Go to Terminal menu → Settings (or Preferences)
3. Click the Profiles tab
4. Under "Shell," change "Startup" to "Run command"
5. Enter: cd ~/Projects (or whatever folder you want)

Now new Terminal windows open in that folder.

Create a Keyboard Shortcut

For the "New Terminal at Folder" service:

1. Open System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services
2. Find "New Terminal at Folder"
3. Click "none" next to it and press your desired shortcut (e.g., Control + Option + T)

Now you can select a folder in Finder and press that shortcut to open Terminal there.

Using iTerm2

If you use iTerm2 instead of Terminal:

1. Open System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services
2. Enable "New iTerm2 Tab Here" and/or "New iTerm2 Window Here"

Or in iTerm2 preferences, you can set the default starting directory.

Quick Navigation Shortcuts

Once you're in Terminal, these help you move around fast:

Open Terminal from Spotlight

Press Command + Space, type "Terminal," press Enter. Then navigate with cd.

Not as fast as opening directly in a folder, but works when you're not in Finder.

The open Command

The open command is versatile:

open .           # Open current folder in Finder
open ~/Desktop   # Open Desktop in Finder
open file.pdf    # Open file with default app
open -a "VS Code" .  # Open current folder in VS Code

Keep Learning

Navigation is fundamental to working efficiently in Terminal. The free course covers this and more.

Check it out at Mac Terminal for Humans.