Here’s a cheat sheet for some commonly used terminal commands on macOS:
Basic Commands
Navigation
cd [directory]: Change directory.pwd: Print current working directory.ls: List files and directories.ls -l: List files and directories in long format.ls -a: List all files (including hidden files).
File Operations
touch [filename]: Create an empty file.cp [source] [destination]: Copy file or directory.mv [source] [destination]: Move or rename file or directory.rm [file]: Remove/delete file.rm -r [directory]: Remove directory and its contents.
Viewing and Editing Files
cat [file]: Display file content.more [file]orless [file]: Display file content page by page.nano [file]orvim [file]: Open text editor to edit file.
System Information
System Info
uname -a: Display system information.
Hardware Info
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType: Display hardware information.df -h: Display disk space usage.
Network Info
ifconfig: Display network interfaces and their configurations.ping [host]: Ping a host to test network connectivity.traceroute [host]: Display the route packets take to network host.
User and Permissions
User Management
whoami: Display current username.who: Display who is logged in.users: Display all logged-in users.
Permissions
chmod [permissions] [file]: Change file permissions.chown [user]:[group] [file]: Change file ownership.
Process Management
Running Processes
ps: Display information about active processes.top: Display real-time system statistics.
Process Control
kill [process_id]: Terminate a process.killall [process_name]: Terminate all instances of a process.
Package Management
Homebrew (Package Manager)
brew install [package]: Install a package.brew upgrade [package]: Upgrade a package.brew uninstall [package]: Uninstall a package.brew list: List installed packages.
Miscellaneous
Searching
find [directory] -name [filename]: Search for files.
Archive and Compression
tar -cvf [archive_name].tar [files]: Create a tar archive.tar -xvf [archive_name].tar: Extract files from a tar archive.gzip [file]: Compress a file.
System Preferences
open -a [application]: Open an application.open [file]: Open a file using the default application.
SSH (Secure Shell)
ssh [user]@[hostname]: Connect to a remote server using SSH.
This cheat sheet covers a variety of macOS terminal commands. For more details and options, refer to the man pages using man [command] or check online resources.