The terminal and the wol command

What it is

TerminalA window where you type commands instead of clicking. Super+Return opens one. is the app where you type commands instead of clicking. You never need it for everyday things in WolOS, but it is often the fastest way. wol is WolOS's own commandOne instruction you type in a terminal, such as ls (list the files here). Return runs it.: one word in front of everything the system can do, from the theme and the volume to updates, modules, games and Secure Boot. Think of it as a remote control with a button for every setting: Settings, scripts and AI helpers all press the same buttons, so what works in one works in the others.

Why

One command for the whole system means one place to find help, one set of words to learn, and one gate. A command that only reads never asks for anything. A command that changes your own settings just does it, and you can undo it. A command that changes the system for every account asks for an administratorAn account allowed to change things that affect everyone on the computer. The account you make while installing is one.'s password, and a helperA script or AI assistant that changes WolOS for you through wol. Every change it makes is shown on screen for you to allow first. program can never answer that question for you.

How

1. Open Terminal. Press Super+Space, type te and press Return. Or press Super+Enter.

   

   You see a Terminal window with a prompt (~ ❯): the place to type.

   

2. Ask for help. Type wol --help and press Return. You see every command with one line on what it does; the list is long, so scroll up for the start. Add --help to any command to see what it does without running it: wol update --help.

3. Read something. Try:

   wol settings
   wol battery
   wol network

   You see your desktop settings, the battery's charge and health, and whether you are online. Reading never asks for anything.

4. Change something of yours. Try:

   wol appearance set dark

   You see the menu bar and the window title bars turn dark, as if you had chosen Dark in Settings > Appearance, and ok for each part of the desktop that switched.

5. Undo it.

   wol undo

   You see the change reversed, and which change was undone with the command that would redo it. wol history lists your recent changes, and Settings > Restore shows the same list with an Undo button on each.

   

   

6. Change the system. Commands that install for every account, or change how the computer starts, ask for an administrator's password. When the request comes from a program, the sheet names it:

   

Ten commands worth knowing

For example, wol modules list prints each optional moduleAn optional set of tools for one kind of work (development, creative work, gaming, AI) that you add or remove in Settings > Modules. with its state and size:

Add --json to a reading command to get data a script can use. The complete list has every command and says which ones helper programs may call.

A worked example

Alice wants a dark desktop in the evening. She opens Terminal, types wol appearance set dark and presses Return: the menu bar and the windows turn dark at once. The next morning she types wol undo and the light look is back. No password was asked, because both changes were hers alone.

If something goes wrong

Related

The wol command (complete list) · Keyboard shortcuts · Assistants and automation · Recovery