The Terminal app allows you to control your Mac using a command prompt. Why would you want to do that? Well, perhaps because you’re used to working on a command line in a Unix-based system and prefer to work that way. Terminal is a Mac command line interface. There are several advantages to using Terminal to accomplish some tasks — it’s usually quicker, for example. In order to use it, however, you’ll need to get to grips with its basic commands and functions. Once you’ve done that, you can dig deeper and learn more commands and use your Mac’s command prompt for more complex, as well as some fun, tasks.
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Download FreeHow to open Terminal on Mac
The Terminal app is in the Utilities folder in Applications. To open it, either open your Applications folder, then open Utilities and double-click on Terminal, or press Command - spacebar to launch Spotlight and type 'Terminal,' then double-click the search result.
With so many Mac commands, it's often difficult to remember and use them all. We're here to help with a detailed cheat sheet of Mac Terminal commands you can use to unlock enhanced productivity on your system. Launch the Terminal app from Applications Utilities or search for it via Spotlight. Then you can get started with some of the powerful. Mac Terminal Commands List. There are tons of commands that you can make use of. Let’s focus on some of the most common MacOS Terminal commands you need to be familiar with when you are mastering the Terminal. There are a few features that are applicable for any command. Hide/Unhide and View Files/Folders in Finder. MacOS Terminal provides you an easy way to Hide.
You’ll see a small window with a white background open on your desktop. In the title bar are your username, the word 'bash' and the dimensions of the window in pixels. Bash stands for 'Bourne again shell'. There are a number of different shells that can run Unix commands, and on the Mac Bash is the one used by Terminal.
If you want to make the window bigger, click on the bottom right corner and drag it outwards. If you don’t like the black text on a white background, go to the Shell menu, choose New Window and select from the options in the list.
If Terminal feels complicated or you have issues with the set-up, let us tell you right away that there are alternatives. MacPilot allows to get access to over 1,200 macOS features without memorizing any commands. Basically, a third-party Terminal for Mac that acts like Finder.
For Mac monitoring features, try iStat Menus. The app collects data like CPU load, disk activity, network usage, and more — all of which accessible from your menu bar.
Basic Mac commands in Terminal
The quickest way to get to know Terminal and understand how it works is to start using it. But before we do that, it’s worth spending a little time getting to know how commands work. To run a command, you just type it at the cursor and hit Return to execute.
Every command is made up of three elements: the command itself, an argument which tells the command what resource it should operate on, and an option that modifies the output. So, for example, to move a file from one folder to another on your Mac, you’d use the move command 'mv' and then type the location of the file you want to move, including the file name and the location where you want to move it to.
Let’s try it.
- Type cd ~/Documentsthen and press Return to navigate to your Home folder.
- Type lsthen Return (you type Return after every command).
You should now see a list of all the files in your Documents folder — ls is the command for listing files.
To see a list of all the commands available in Terminal, hold down the Escape key and then press y when you see a question asking if you want to see all the possibilities. To see more commands, press Return.
Unix has its own built-in manual. So, to learn more about a command type man [name of command], where 'command' is the name of the command you want find out more about.
![Mac terminal command for ipconfig Mac terminal command for ipconfig](/uploads/1/1/9/7/119727899/114677842.jpg)
Terminal rules
There are a few things you need to bear in mind when you’re typing commands in Terminal, or any other command-line tool. Firstly, every character matters, including spaces. So when you’re copying a command you see here, make sure you include the spaces and that characters are in the correct case.
You can’t use a mouse or trackpad in Terminal, but you can navigate using the arrow keys. If you want to re-run a command, tap the up arrow key until you reach it, then press Return. To interrupt a command that’s already running, type Control-C.
Commands are always executed in the current location. So, if you don’t specify a location in the command, it will run wherever you last moved to or where the last command was run. Use the cdcommand, followed by a directory path, like in Step 1 above, to specify the folder where you want a command to run.
There is another way to specify a location: go to the Finder, navigate to the file or folder you want and drag it onto the Terminal window, with the cursor at the point where you would have typed the path.
Here’s another example. This time, we’ll create a new folder inside your Documents directory and call it 'TerminalTest.'
- Open a Finder window and navigate to your Documents folder.
- Type cd and drag the Documents folder onto the Terminal window.
- Now, type mkdir 'TerminalTest'
Go back to the Finder, open Text Edit and create a new file called 'TerminalTestFile.rtf'. Now save it to the TerminalTest folder in your Documents folder.
In the Terminal window, type cd ~/Documents/TerminalTest then Return. Now type lsand you should see 'TerminalTestFile' listed.
To change the name of the file, type this, pressing Return after every step:
- cd~/Documents/Terminal Test
- mv TerminalTestFile TerminalTestFile2.rtf
That will change the name of the file to 'TerminalTestFile2'. You can, of course, use any name you like. The mv command means 'move' and you can also use it to move files from one directory to another. In that case, you’d keep the file names the same, but specify another directory before typing the the second instance of the name, like this:
mv ~/Documents/TerminalTest TerminalTestFile.rtf ~/Documents/TerminalTest2 TerminalTestFile.rtf
More advanced Terminal commands
Terminal can be used for all sorts of different tasks. Some of them can be performed in the Finder, but are quicker in Terminal. Others access deep-rooted parts of macOS that aren’t accessible from the Finder without specialist applications. Here are a few examples.
Copy files from one folder to another
- In a Terminal window, type ditto [folder 1] [folder 1] where 'folder 1' is the folder that hosts the files and 'folder 2' is the folder you want to move them to.
- To see the files being copied in the Terminal window, type -v after the command.
Download files from the internet
You’ll need the URL of the file you want to download in order to use Terminal for this.
- cd ~/Downloads/
- curl -O [URL of file you want to download]
If you want to download the file to a directory other than your Downloads folder, replace ~/Downloads/ with the path to that folder, or drag it onto the Terminal window after you type the cd command.
Change the default location for screenshots
If you don’t want macOS to save screenshots to your Desktop when you press Command-Shift-3, you can change the default location in Terminal
- defaults write com.apple.screencapture location [path to folder where you want screenshots to be saved]
- Hit ReturnMany synths and sequencers, as well as many modern DAWs, have built-in arpeggiator effects. If you’re not happy with these or your synth or DAW doesn’t come with an arp feature, this page is for you. In the following list, I’m collecting the best free arpeggiator VST and AU plugins available today. Cthulhu by Xfer Records. Cthulhu comes from the same maker of Serum, that beast of a synth. VST/AU for Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8 (32/64bit), Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. Demo version functions just like the licensed version except it doesn't save presets. Be sure to try the demo version before purchasing the full version to make sure Cream runs fine on your system. There is no refund. Arpeggiator vst for mac. BlueARP can be also characterised as: pattern arpeggiator, step sequencer style arpeggiator, arpeggiator with pattern input. I started development in 2012, now BlueARP is quite stable but I’m keeping further development. BlueARP comes as a VST plugin for Windows, VST plugin for Mac OSX and MIDI-FX plugin for OSX (to use with Logic Pro X). The natural evolution of an arpeggiator adapted to our times Nora is a groundbreaking arpeggiator with DAW technology that employs advanced editing tools to create phrases with ease. It allows the creation of quality solo melodies, rhythmic bass lines or stabs, instantly.
- killall SystemUIServer
- Hit Return
Change the default file type for screenshots
By default, macOS saves screenshots as .png files. To change that to .jpg, do this:
- defaults write com.apple.screencapture type JPG
- Press Return
- killall SystemUIServer
- Press Return
Delete all files in a folder
The command used to delete, or remove, files in Terminal is rm. So, for example, if you wanted to remove a file in your Documents folder named 'oldfile.rtf' you’d use cd ~/Documents to go to your Documents folder then to delete the file. As it stands, that will delete the file without further intervention from you. If you want to confirm the file to be deleted, use -i as in rm -i oldfile.rtf
To delete all the files and sub-folders in a directory named 'oldfolder', the command is rm -R oldfolder and to confirm each file should be deleted, rm -iR oldfolder
Just because you can use Terminal to delete files on your Mac, doesn’t mean you should. It’s a relatively blunt instrument, deleting only those files and folders you specify.
Another way to free up space
If your goal in removing files or folders is to free up space on your Mac, or to remove junk files that are causing your Mac to run slowly, it’s far better to use an app designed for the purpose. CleanMyMac X is one such app.
It will scan your Mac for files and recommend which ones you can delete safely, as well as telling you how much space you’ll save. And once you’ve decided which files to delete, you can get rid of them in a click. You can download CleanMyMac here.
As you can see, while Terminal may look scary and seem like it’s difficult to use, it really isn’t. The key is learning a few commands, such as those we’ve outlined above, and getting to know the syntax for those commands.
However, you should be careful when using Terminal, it’s a powerful tool that has deep access to your Mac’s system files. Check commands by googling them if you’re not sure what they do. And if you need to delete files to save space, use an app like CleanMyMac X to do it. It’s much safer!
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Hidden behind beautiful Mac screens is the world of Terminal Command lines. Knowing how to use these commands will help you increase your work efficiency in a great way.
Below is a list of the most basic commands divided by purpose of use:
CORE COMMANDS
Key/Command | Description |
---|---|
cd [folder] | Change directory e.g. cd Documents |
cd | Home directory |
cd ~ | Home directory |
cd / | Root of drive |
cd – | Previous directory |
ls | Short listing |
ls -l | Long listing |
ls -a | Listing incl. hidden files |
ls -lh | Long listing with Human readable file sizes |
ls -R | Entire content of folder recursively |
sudo [command] | Run command with the security privileges of the superuser (Super User DO) |
open [file] | Opens a file ( as if you double clicked it ) |
top | Displays active processes. Press q to quit |
nano [file] | Opens the file using the nano editor |
vim [file] | Opens the file using the vim editor |
clear | Clears the screen |
reset | Resets the terminal display |
CHAINING COMMANDS
Key/Command | Description |
---|---|
[command-a]; [command-b] | Run command A and then B, regardless of success of A |
[command-a] && [command-b] | Run command B if A succeeded |
[command-a] || [command-b] | Run command B if A failed |
[command-a] & | Run command A in background |
PIPING COMMANDS
Key/Command | Description |
---|---|
[command-a] | [command-b] | Run command A and then pass the result to command B e.g ps auxwww | grep google |
COMMAND HISTORY
Key/Command | Description |
---|---|
history n | Shows the stuff typed – add a number to limit the last n items |
Ctrl + r | Interactively search through previously typed commands |
![value] | Execute the last command typed that starts with ‘value’ |
![value]:p | Print to the console the last command typed that starts with ‘value’ |
!! | Execute the last command typed |
!!:p | Print to the console the last command typed |
FILE MANAGEMENT
Ssh Command For Mac Terminal
Key/Command | Description |
---|---|
touch [file] | Create a new file |
pwd | Full path to working directory |
. | Current folder, e.g. ls . |
. | Parent/enclosing directory, e.g. ls . |
ls -l . | Long listing of parent directory |
cd ././ | Move 2 levels up |
cat | Concatenate to screen |
rm [file] | Remove a file, e.g. rm data.tmp |
rm -i [file] | Remove with confirmation |
rm -r [dir] | Remove a directory and contents |
rm -f [file] | Force removal without confirmation |
cp [file] [newfile] | Copy file to file |
cp [file] [dir] | Copy file to directory |
mv [file] [new filename] | Move/Rename, e.g. mv file1.ad /tmp |
pbcopy < [file] | Copies file contents to clipboard |
pbpaste | Paste clipboard contents |
pbpaste > [file] | Paste clipboard contents into file, pbpaste > paste-test.txt |
DIRECTORY MANAGEMENT
Key/Command | Description |
---|---|
mkdir [dir] | Create new directory |
mkdir -p [dir]/[dir] | Create nested directories |
rmdir [dir] | Remove directory ( only operates on empty directories ) |
rm -R [dir] | Remove directory and contents |
less [file] | Output file content delivered in screensize chunks |
[command] > [file] | Push output to file, keep in mind it will get overwritten |
[command] >> [file] | Append output to existing file |
[command] < [file] | Tell command to read content from a file |
SEARCH
Best Terminal Commands For Mac
Key/Command | Description |
---|---|
find [dir] -name [search_pattern] | Search for files, e.g. find /Users -name 'file.txt' |
grep [search_pattern] [file] | Search for all lines that contain the pattern, e.g. grep 'Tom' file.txt |
grep -r [search_pattern] [dir] | Recursively search in all files in specified directory for all lines that contain the pattern |
grep -v [search_pattern] [file] | Search for all lines that do NOT contain the pattern |
grep -i [search_pattern] [file] | Search for all lines that contain the case-insensitive pattern |
mdfind [search_pattern] | Spotlight search for files (names, content, other metadata), e.g. mdfind skateboard |
mdfind -onlyin [dir] -name [pattern] | Spotlight search for files named like pattern in the given directory |
HELP
Command Terminal Mac Python
Key/Command | Description |
---|---|
[command] -h | Offers help |
[command] –help | Offers help |
info [command] | Offers help |
man [command] | Show the help manual for [command] |
whatis [command] | Gives a one-line description of [command] |
apropos [search-pattern] | Searches for command with keywords in description |