Mac Terminal is a wonderful tool to learn and use. If you’re new to using the command line, it can take some time to get familiar with the commands, and there are so many that even if you’re a long-time user, you may often forget some of them.
Sometimes I even need a reference sheet to remember some of them. Because of this, I have created a cheat sheet with some of the most used commands. We may not need this all the time, but it can help to have it handy whenever you get stuck trying to remember a command and how to use it.
I am Eric, and I have been a Software Engineer for over 25 years. Command line interfaces such as Mac Terminal are nothing new to me, and most of the time, I can remember the commands I need to use, but there are times when I need to look them up.
Whether you have the same problem as me or are new to using Mac Terminal, keep this page handy, and you can use it as a quick reference anytime you need help with some of the most common commands.
Contents
Overview
The cheat sheet below is meant to give you a quick overview of some of the most popular Mac Terminal commands. In most cases, I am not listing parameters or examples since this is meant to be used as a reference to get you to where you want to go.
In some of the few cases where I do list a command with parameters, they are commands along with very commonly used parameters where it may be helpful to have the entire command.
When you need more information on a specific command just use the man command (shown below) to see the parameters you need to supply and get examples. It’s easy and convenient to use. From your Mac Terminal command line, just type man, the command name, and hit return.
man <command name>
It’s that easy! If that doesn’t work for you, I have also linked almost all of the commands to online man pages where you can get the same information.
Man
To get started, I wanted to first show the man command. This is one of the most valuable commands because it can provide information on using any Mac Terminal commands on the fly. It often goes unused because we forget it is there. Get into the habit of using it and you will always have the information you need at your fingertips.
| Command | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| man | Command manual. Get information on what the command does, what parameters it has available, and examples of how to use it. |
These are commands used to navigate or move around the system. Some, such as ls and pwd provide information on your location or path so that you can see where you are and where you want to go to.
| Command | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| cd | Change directory, move to another path or directory location. |
| ls | List or show the contents of the current directory. |
| ls -la | List the contents of the directory in long form showing date, time, attributes, etc, and show all files, even hidden files. |
| ls -ltra | List the contents of the directory in long form showing date, time, attributes, etc, and show all files, even hidden files. Sort the order of the files by date/time showing the most recent files at the end of the list. |
| pwd | Print the current working directory. Show the current location or path. |
File/Directory Manipulation
These commands are used to perform actions such as copying, creating, changing permissions, etc., on files and directories.
| Command | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| chmod | Change the read/write/execute permissions of files or directories. |
| chown | Change the ownership of files or directories. |
| cp | Copy files or directories. |
| mkdir | Create a directory. |
| mv | Move or rename files or directories |
| rm | Remove files or directories |
| rmdir | Remove empty directories |
| touch | Create an empty file |
| vivimnano | Edit a file |
Output
These commands and operators (denoted as operators below) help you to output information and data to your screen from files or other commands.
| Command/operator | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| > (operator) | Direct the output of a command to a file. If the file already exists, overwrite that file with a new file. |
| >> (operator) | Append the output of a command to an existing file. If the file does not already exist, create the file. |
| | (operator) | Pipe or send the output of one command to the input of another command. |
| cat | Display the contents of a file on the screen. |
| echo | Display a message or the content of a variable on the screen. |
| head | Display the first 10 lines of a file or files |
| less | Displays the contents of a file on your screen one screen full screen at a time. It allows you to scroll up and down through the file. |
| more | Displays the contents of a file on your screen one screen full at a time. It only allows you to scroll down through the file. |
| tail | Display the last 10 lines of a file. |
Search
Everyone needs to search for a file or text within a file at some point. The commands below are very powerful and can be used for many things when it comes to searching and performing actions from the command line
| Command | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| find | Find or search for a file or directory. |
| grep | Search for a string of text or pattern in a file or group of files. |
System
These commands either display system information, set or modify it.
| Command | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| df | Display the amount of space available on a file system. |
| du | Estimate the file space usage of a file system or group of files. |
| export | Set the export attribute of a variable, making it available in the environment. |
| kill | Terminate a process. |
| ps | Display the current processes running on the system. |
| top | Display a real-time view of the running processes. |
Network
These commands provide information about your system’s network or transfer files or system information from one system to another.
| Command | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| curl | Transfer data to or from a server. |
| ifconfig | Display the status of network interfaces. |
| ping | Send an echo request to a network host. A response will tell you that the host is up and running. |
| scp | Copy files between hosts on a network. |
| ssh | Log into a remote machine or execute commands on a remote machine. |
| who | Show who is logged into the system |
Command
The commands below are related to your command line history. You can use them to run commands more efficiently, especially when there are commands that you repeat over and over again. The sudo command lets you run commands as a superuser or another user to avoid permission-denied errors.
| Command | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| history | Display a list of previous commands that have been executed from your command line. |
| arrow up | Display the last command you have run on your command line. Pressing it multiple times will move back through the command history. |
| arrow down | Move forward through the command history on your command line. |
| sudo | Execute a command as a superuser or another user. |
| whoami | Show the current username you are using or working under. |
Fun Commands
Here are just a few fun commands you should try when you are bored.
| Command | Function/Explanation |
|---|---|
| say | Convert text to audible speech. |
| banner | Create a banner. |
| sl | Display a train moving across your Terminal screen. For this, you will first need to install it with the command brew install sl. |
| ruby -e ‘C=`stty size`.scan(/\d+/)[1].to_i;S=[“2743”.to_i(16)].pack(“U*”);a={};puts “\033[2J”;loop{a[rand(C)]=0;a.each{|x,o|;a[x]+=1;print “\033[#{o};#{x}H \033[#{a[x]};#{x}H#{S} \033[0;0H”};$stdout.flush;sleep 0.1}’ | Make it snow on your Terminal screen. |
FAQs
Below are a few common questions that about commands that you run from the Mac Terminal command line.
How do I know what parameters to supply to the commands?
This is a great question because most of the commands have multiple parameters that can be passed to them. Some are required, and others are optional. You can use the man command followed by the command you wish to learn about to get the details about them.
man <command name>
What is the most used command?
That is hard to say. It depends on the user and what kind of work they normally do. For me, I would say that the cd command is probably the one I use the most. Navigating around the file system requires that I type that one a lot as I find myself exploring the directories.
What if I don’t see the command I am looking for in the cheat sheet?
Mac Terminal’s command line interface is based on the UNIX/LINUX operating system, and there are hundreds of commands that you can use. I haven’t come close to listing all of them here, just some of the most used commands. If you are looking for more commands, you can do a Google search for UNIX or LINUX commands or check out this reference page for a good list.
Conclusion
Mac Terminal has many commands, and I cannot list all of them here, but above, I have listed some of the most important and most frequently used commands. I hope this list can help you as a reference to using the command line with Mac Terminal.
What commands do you use frequently? Are there any that I missed above that should go on this list? I would love to have your feedback.
