[Mac] Terminal commands

 

Basics
man [command]	Show the help manual of the command
[command] -h	Get help about a command
open [file]	Opens a file
nano [file]	Opens the Terminal editor
sudo [command]	Run command with the security privileges of the super user
~ (Tilde)	Home directory
.. (Double Period)	Parent directory
. (Single Period)	Current directory
/ (Forward Slash)	Top level directory
exit	End a shell session
Shift + Cmd + V	Paste the selection
Option + Shift + Cmd + C	Copy plain text
Ctrl + _	Undo the last command
Ctrl + Z	Puts whatever you're running into a suspended background process
Ctrl + Y	Paste whatever was cut by the last command
Ctrl + B	Move cursor one character backward
Ctrl + F	Move cursor one character forward
Option + ←	Move cursor one word backward
Option + →	Move cursor one word forward
Ctrl + D	Exit the current shell
Ctrl + C	Kill whatever you're running
Ctrl + L	Clear the screen
Esc + T	Swap the last two words before the cursor
Ctrl + T	Swap the last two characters before the cursor
Ctrl + W	Delete the word before the cursor
Ctrl + K	Clear the line after the cursor
Ctrl + U	Clear the line before the cursor
Ctrl + E	Go to the end of the line you're currently typing on
Ctrl + A	Go to the beginning of the line you're currently typing on

Command	Action
Output
Tab	Auto-complete file and folder names
<cmd1>	<cmd2>
<cmd> > <file>	Direct the output of <cmd> into <file>
<cmd> > > <file>	Appends the output of <cmd> to <file>
head <file>	Output the first 10 lines of <file>
less <file>	Output the contents of <file> using the less command that supports pagination and more
cat <file>	Output the content of <file>
Search
grep -rl "<text>" <dir>	Search for all files containing <text> inside <dir>
grep "<text>" <file>	Output all occurrences of <text> inside <file> (add -i for case insensitivity)
find <dir> -name <"file">	Find all files named <file> inside <dir>. Use wildcards (*) to search for parts of filenames
Environment Variable or Path
export PATH=$PATH:absolute/path to/program/	Execute a program via terminal only in your current session. If you use a program regularly, add the path to shell configuration file.
echo $PATH >path.txt	Export the path directory to a text file
echo $PATH	Check the value of the PATH variable which storea a list of directories with executable files
$echo	Tells the terminal to print something and show it to you
printenv	Display a list of currently set environment variables. Also tells you which shell you're using
Homebrew
brew cleanup	Remove stale lock files and outdated packages for all formula and casks.
brew unpin [installed_formula]	Unpin to upgrade a package
brew pin [installed_formula]	Pin a formula from getting upgraded
brew outdated --cask	Search for outdated cask
brew outdated --formula	Search for outdated formula
brew outdated <formula>	<cask>
brew upgrade <formula>	<cask>
brew search text	/regex/
brew deps <formula>	<cask>
brew list --cask	List only installed cask
brew list --formula	List only installed formulas
brew uninstall <formula>	cask>
brew install <formula>	<cask>
brew help	List of useful homebrew formula and cask commands
brew doctor	Check brew for potential problems
Network
traceroute [hostname]	Identify the path and the hops traversed by the packets from your device to the destination address
ifconfig en0	View your device IP and MAC address
arp -a	View a list of all devices on your local network. It will show you the IP and MAC address of all the devices
scp <file><user>@<host>:/remote/path	Copy <file> to a remote <host>
ssh <username>@<host>	Establish SSH connection to <host> with user <username>
curl -O <url/to/file>	Download file via HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP
whois <domain>	Output whois info for a domain
ping <host>	Ping host and display status
Processes
ps -ax	grep <appname>
kill PID	Quit process with ID <PID>. You'll see PID as a column in the Activity Monitor
top -o rsize	Sort top by memory usage
top -ocpu -s 5	Display processes sorted by CPU usage, updating every 5 seconds
top	Display live information about currently running processes
ps -aux	Shows all the processes with %cpu, %mem, page in, PID, and command
ps -ax	Output currently running processes. Here, a shows processes from all users and x shows processes that are not connected with the Terminal
Permissions
chown <user>:<group> <file>	Change the ownership of a file to user and group. Add -R to include folder contents
chmod -R 600 <dir>	Change the permission of a folder (and its contents) to 600
chmod 755 <file>	Change the permission of a file to 755
ls -ld/<dir>	Display the read, write, and access permission of a particular folder
ls -ld	Display the default permission for a home directory
Command History
!!	Execute the last command typed
![value]	Execute the last command typed that starts with a value
history n	Shows the previous commands you've typed. Add a number to limit to the last n items
Ctrl + R	Search through previously used commands
File and Directory Management
mv *.png ~/<dir>	Move all PNG files from current folder to a different folder
mv -i <file> <dir>	Optional -i flag to warn you before overwriting the file
mv <file> <dir>	Move a file to the folder, possibly by overwriting an existing file
mv <file> <newfilename>	Move/rename
rm <file1> <file2> <file3>	Delete multiple files without any confirmation
rm -f <file>	Force removal without confirmation
rm -i <file>	Delete a file only when you give confirmation
rm <file>	Delete a file (This deletes the file permanently; use with caution.)
ditto -V [folder path][new folder]	Copy the contents of a folder to new folder. In here "-V" print a line of status for every file copied
cp <file1> <file2> <file3>/Users/<dir>	Copy multiple files to a folder
cp -i <file><dir>	Prompts you before copying a file with a warning overwrite message
cp -R <dir> <"new dir">	Copy a folder to a new folder with spaces in the filename
cp <file>~/<dir>/<newfile>	Copy a file to the folder and rename the copied file
cp <file> <newfile>	Copy a file to the current folder
cp <file> <dir>	Copy a file to the folder
touch <file>	Create a new file without any extension
rm -R <dir>	Delete a folder and its contents
rmdir <dir>	Delete a folder (only works on empty folders)
mkdir "<dir>"	Create a folder with a space in the filename
mkdir <dir1> <dir2> <dir3>	Create several folders at once
mkdir -p <dir>/<dir>	Create nested folders
mkdir <dir>	Create new folder named <dir>
File Size and Disk Space
df -H	Calculate free disk space in powers of 1,000 (as opposed to 1,024)
df -h	Calculate your system's free disk space
du -sk*	sort -nr
du -s	Display an entry for each specified file
du -sh [folder]	Human readable output of all files in a directory
du	List usage for each subdirectory and its contents
List Directory Contents
ls -la	List detailed directory contents, including hidden files
ls -lo	List the file names with size, owner, and flags
ls -lh	Long listing with human readable file sizes in KB, MB, or GB
ls -lt	List the files sorted by time modified (most recent first)
ls -l /	List of the file system from root with symbolic links
ls -l	List in a long format. Includes file mode, owner and group name, date and time file was modified, pathname, and more
ls -S	Sort files or entries by size
ls -F	Display a / (slash) immediately after each path that is a directory, * (asterisk) after executable programs or scripts, and @ after a symbolic link
ls -1	Output the list of files in one entry per line format
ls -a	List all entries including those with .(period) and ..(double period)
ls -C	Force multi-column output of the listing
ls	Display the name of files and subdirectories in the directory
Change Directory
cd ../..	Move up two levels
cd ..	Move up to the parent directory
pwd	Show your working directory
cd -	Previous directory or folder you last browsed
cd /	Root of the drive
cd ~	Home directory
cd [folder]	Change directory, e.g. cd Documents
cd	Home directory