Using Cygwin on Windows: Installing, Terminal Commands, & More

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Turn your Windows PC into a Linux-style terminal

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: August 14, 2024 Fact Checked

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Installation and Setup

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Using Cygwin

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Helpful Terminal Commands

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Video

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Q&A

Cygwin is a free command line interface that allows you to install Linux software and use Linux commands on Windows without having to install Linux. While Cygwin may be unfamiliar to first-time users, it can become second nature with a little practice. Read on to learn how to install Cygwin, use the terminal, install and update software packages, and run basic Linux commands on Windows.

Using Cygwin: The Basics

Install Cygwin to use Linux software and commands on Windows. The setup wizard installs a terminal app and basic tools, and you can install additional packages like Python or Ruby. Once installed, open "Cygwin64 Terminal" to access the CLI.

Section 1 of 3:

Installation and Setup

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1
Download and run the Cygwin installer.
- Go to https://www.cygwin.com and click Install Cygwin in the left column. Click the setup-x86_64.exe link to download the installer to your PC.
- Once downloaded, double-click the downloaded file and click Next to start the setup wizard. Choose "Install from Internet" and click Next to run the Cygwin installer.
2
Set your installation directory and preferences. For most users, leaving the default installation directory (c:\cygwin\) and the other default settings is fine. You can also choose to install for All Users here or Just Me.
- Click Next to continue.
3
Choose a temporary directory and click Next. This is where Cygwin will store the packages you download. Any temporary directory will work.
- Like Linux, you can install software in Cygwin from packages. Instead of using a package manager like Apt or Yum, you'll use the graphical package installer in the setup wizard.
Alternatively, if you use a proxy server to access the internet, enter that information now.
You will now be presented with a list of Cygwin mirrors. You can choose any mirror, as they all contain the same software. If the installation takes too long, you can always return to select another mirror.^{[1]
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6
Choose your software packages and click Next. Only the software in the "Base" category is installed by default.^{[2]
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Research source} This includes common Linux tools like the bash shell, coreutils, gzip, tar, and necessary Cygwin libraries. To install other software, such as Python or Ruby, you'll need to select "Install" from its corresponding menu.
- You can rerun the installer anytime to install and update packages.
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Click Next to install Cygwin and your selected software. This installs Cygwin and all the software you've selected. This process can take a while, depending on what you're installing.
- Once the installation is complete, you'll be asked if you want to add Cygwin's icons to your desktop and the Start menu. It's usually a good idea to at least add Cygwin to the Start menu so you can find it easily.

Section 2 of 3:

Using Cygwin

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To get to the terminal, just click the Cygwin64 Terminal in the Start menu. This opens a basic bash shell and prompt, just like in Linux.
The search and comparison tools are some of the most basic commands you can use in Cygwin. To find a file, you can input the following command: $ find . -name EXAMPLE. This will show you all of your files with that name. However, it is case-sensitive.
If you would like to find certain text within a file, you need to incorporate the "grep" command. Thus, to find all instances of "EXAMPLE," you would need to input $ grep 'EXAMPLE' EXAMPLE.txt. This will provide you with all the instances of the text "EXAMPLE" within the EXAMPLE.txt file. However, this particular command is case-sensitive. To find all instances of "EXAMPLE" regardless of case, continue to the next step.
To find text regardless of case, simply add -i after the grep command. It should look something like this: $ grep -i 'EXAMPLE' EXAMPLE.txt.
If you would like to compare two files, you can easily do so by entering the diff command. Simply input the command followed by the names of the two files you wish to compare: diff EXAMPLE.txt PRACTICE.txt. This will then present you with the two files, one after another.
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Install more software in Cygwin. If you want to update or download more Cygwin-compatible software, just run the installer again (the file you downloaded). If it's been a while since you installed it, you can get the latest version from https://www.cygwin.com/install.html.^{[3]
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- Run the installer and go through the basic installation steps until you get to the "Select Packages" screen.
- Search for a package to update or install, then select Install or Reinstall.
- Complete the installer to install or update your packages.

Section 3 of 3:

Helpful Terminal Commands

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Some basic Linux commands you can use in Cygwin are listed in the table below, alongside their corresponding commands in Windows.

Action	Windows	Cygwin
list directory	dir	ls
clear console	cls	clear
copy file(s)	copy	cp
move file(s)	move	mv
delete file(s)	del	rm
create directory	md	mkdir
remove directory	rd	rm -rf
change current directory	cd	cd
search	find	grep
display/output text	echo	echo

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Question

How do I launch a program?

Fouzi Bounezef

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To start a program as an administrator, you must right click the window with the option to run as administrator.

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How can I use micro for writing program in Cygwin?

Arrogance

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The syntax of a program varies by language, so that's not directly possible to answer. As far as micro goes, the only thing you need to know is to press Ctrl and S to save a new file, and Ctrl and Q to exit. Use the "arrow" keys on your keyboard to navigate through a file.

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How to save the section of my work in Cygwin and restore it to continue?

Arrogance

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Cygwin is just an API compatibility layer and environment. An answer to your question is very application-dependent.

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