From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :
command line interface n 1: a user interface in which you type commands instead of choosing them from a menu or selecting an icon [syn: command line interface, CLI]From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018) :
command line interfaceA means of communication between a program and its user, based solely on textual input and output. Commands are input with the help of a keyboard or similar device and are interpreted and executed by the program. Results are output as text or graphics to the terminal. Command line interfaces usually provide greater flexibility than graphical user interfaces, at the cost of being harder for the novice to use. Consequently, some hackers look down on GUIs as designed For The Rest Of Them. (1996-01-12)