When you’ll be using the command line in PowerShell. PowerShell is a program on your PC. If you search for it in your programs, “Windows PowerShell” will come up.
When you’re using PowerShell you’re giving your computer precise instructions to do things. You need to be careful and take it slow. You could easily mess things up (so always double check your commands).
When you run a command, the format generally is command-name
+ arguments(aka settings)
An example: moving around your computer file structure.
When you open up PowerShell you’ll be in your home folder (aka directory), which is located at C:/Users/YOURUSERNAME
Powershell will let you know where you are at because in front of the cursor it will show you were you are at.
Let’s take a look and see what’s around us. If you just type ls
and hit return, you will get a list of all the folders in your current directory. In this case, the folders in your home directory. You will see something like this (note, it’s similar for everyone, but there might be some differences):
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
d----- 1/30/2021 1:40 PM .ssh
d-r--- 1/12/2021 8:14 PM 3D Objects
d-r--- 1/12/2021 8:14 PM Contacts
d-r--- 4/27/2021 7:03 PM Desktop
d-r--- 4/21/2021 10:53 PM Documents
d-r--- 4/27/2021 7:03 PM Downloads
d-r--- 1/12/2021 8:14 PM Favorites
d-r--- 1/12/2021 8:14 PM Links
d-r--- 1/12/2021 8:14 PM Music
d-r--- 4/12/2021 10:16 PM OneDrive
d-r--- 4/20/2021 6:25 AM Pictures
d-r--- 1/12/2021 8:14 PM Saved Games
d-r--- 1/12/2021 8:15 PM Searches
d-r--- 4/27/2021 1:53 PM Videos
Congrats, that’s your first use of the command line. Using ls
is great because you can use the info it gives to traverse your directories.
Let’s move around. There’s the cd
aka “change directory” command. You can give it relative or absolute paths. Relative means relative to your current directory. So you can easily go to some other folder in your home directory. Another directory in your home directory is Downloads
. If you type cd Dow
then hit the tab button, it’ll autocomplete to cd .\Downloads\
. Hit enter. Now you’re in the Downloads folder.
Get a feel for moving around.
Now, using the CLI with Chia is all like this, just a few more parts. There’s more typing/text but it’s all basically the same command
+ arguments
First, get familiar with the Chia Wiki: Home · Chia-Network/chia-blockchain Wiki · GitHub
Read through the Beginner’s Guide, the Quick Start guide, and the CLI commands reference.
Follow the guides step by step and you’ll be well on your way to be a Chia farmer.
Read through the FAQ too. You’ll learn the basics from all this. Good luck!