Day 15: Minecraft Special
Friday, April 3rd, 2026
Work Session
What is a CLI?
A Command Line Interface (CLI) is a way to interact with a computer by typing text commands instead of clicking icons and buttons. Before computers had graphical interfaces with windows and menus, the command line was the only way to use a computer.
In the 1960s and 70s, programmers used terminals — screens that could only display text — to communicate with large mainframe computers. You would type a command, press Enter, and the computer would respond with text. Operating systems like Unix (1971) and later MS-DOS (1981) were built entirely around this idea. When Apple released the Macintosh in 1984 and Microsoft released Windows in 1985, the graphical user interface (GUI) became popular — but the command line never went away.
Today, software developers, system administrators, and power users still rely on the CLI every day. It’s faster for many tasks, it can be automated, and it gives you more control than a GUI. Even Minecraft has its own built-in command line.
Terminal Walkthrough
Mr. Willingham will walk the class through using Apple’s Terminal app. Follow along on your own computer.
ls — List files
Lists the files and folders in your current location. Think of it like opening a folder and seeing what’s inside.
lsls Desktoppwd — Print working directory
Shows you exactly where you are in the file system. It prints the full path to your current folder.
pwdYou might see something like: /Users/student
cd — Change directory
Moves you into a different folder. Like double-clicking a folder to open it.
cd DesktopTo go back up one folder:
cd ..touch — Create a file
Creates a new, empty file. The file won’t have anything in it yet — you’re just making it exist.
touch hello.txtnano — Edit a file
Opens a simple text editor right inside the terminal. You can type, then press Ctrl + X to exit (it will ask if you want to save).
nano hello.txtmkdir — Make a directory
Creates a new folder.
mkdir my-projectYou can then cd my-project to go inside it.
Minecraft Education Edition: The Command Line
Minecraft has its own CLI built right into the game. When you press / or T to open the chat window, you’re actually opening a command line. Every command starts with a / — just like typing commands in a terminal.
Here are two powerful commands to try:
/tp — Teleport
Teleports you (or another player) to a specific location in the world. Coordinates in Minecraft are x (east/west), y (up/down), and z (north/south).
/tp @s 0 80 0This teleports yourself (@s) to coordinates (0, 80, 0) — the center of the world, 80 blocks up.
/tp @s ~ ~50 ~The ~ means “relative to where I am now.” This teleports you 50 blocks straight up from your current position.
/fill — Fill a region with blocks
Fills a rectangular area between two sets of coordinates with a block type. This is like building hundreds of blocks instantly.
/fill ~0 ~0 ~0 ~10 ~10 ~10 glassThis fills a 10x10x10 cube of glass blocks starting from your current position.
/fill ~0 ~-1 ~0 ~20 ~-1 ~20 gold_blockThis creates a 20x20 gold floor right below your feet.
/fill ~0 ~0 ~0 ~5 ~3 ~5 airThis clears out a room-sized area by filling it with air — useful for carving out spaces.
Independent Worlds
Open Minecraft Education Edition and create your own world. Experiment with commands and start building. Have fun with it — this is your world to explore.
Standards
- MS-CS-FCP.2.3 — Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental concepts for how computers process programming commands.
- MS-CS-FCP.3.2 — Develop a working vocabulary of computational thinking including sequences, algorithms, and iteration.
- MS-CS-FCP.4.1 — Develop a working vocabulary of programming including coding, user interfaces, and programming language.
- MS-CS-FCP.4.5 — Implement a simple algorithm in a computer program.
- MS-CS-FCP.4.8 — Create a computer program that implements a loop.