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Mac OS FAQ |
Updated: 19 Dec 2022
1. How do I type in commands rather than use Finder?
Mac OS comes with Terminal application which opens a shell windows such as Bash (Bourne Again Shell) or zsh (Z Shell). You can access it via Applications, Tools, Terminal.
The current directory is displayed followed by a flashing underline cursor. To exit this window, type exit, Cmd+Q or click on the X on top left of the window.
You can change the default shell via Terminal preferences, just change the 'Shell opens with' and enter path to the shell program e.g. /bin/zsh, /bin/bash, /bin/sh, /bin/csh, and /bin/ksh.
2. What commands are available to use with bash?
Many of the commands are similar to the ones with Unix and Linux. Commands can be run from the current directory or those listed in the command path. The command path can be viewed by typing echo $Path and can be edited via the System Control Panel, Advanced, Environmental Variables. Most commands are available in the /bin, /sbin, /usr/bin and /usr/sbin folders. To view the parameters of the command you can type either man <command> or <command> --version. Commands can be combined using the pipe (|) character e.g. cat file | more.
Applications can be launched from the command line by entering the path to the executable within the application e.g. /Applications/ApplicationName.app/Contents/Resources/command .
| File System Commands | Purpose |
| cd <directory> | Change directory. To change drive just enter name of drive letter followed by a colon e.g. C: |
| cp <source> <dest> | Copy one or more files (the ? and * wildcards can be used to select files) |
| rm <files> | Delete one or more files |
| ls <dir> | List files in a directory |
| mkdir <directory> | Make or create a directory |
| rmdir <directory> | Remove or delete a directory |
| mv <orig> <new> | Rename or move file(s) |
| cat <file> | Display contents of a text file |
| more <file> | Display contents of a file a screen at a time |
| nano or vi <file> | Change contents of a file (editor) |
| grep "string" <file(s)> | Search for string in a file |
| cmp <file1> <file2> | Compare two files |
| zip <file(s)> archive.zip | Compact or compress a file |
| fsck | Check disk for errors |
| fdisk | Disk Partitioning program |
| sed <file> | Line editor (use ? for help) |
| chmod <perms> <file> | Change permissions of file/folder |
| chown <owner> <file> | Take ownership of files or folders |
| lpr | Print files |
| mount | Mount filesystem |
| pwd | Print working directory |
| Other Commands | Purpose |
| caffinate | Prevent system from slooping |
| csrutil | Configure system integrity protection |
| cron | Set up scheduled commands |
| asr | Apple Software Restore |
| defaults | Set preferences, show hidden files |
| dig | DNS lookup |
| diskutil | Disk utility |
| dscl | Directory services client (see article) |
| dsmemberutil | View user and group rights |
| GetFileInfo | Get file attributes |
| groups | List groups a user is in |
| hdiutil | Manipulate ISO disk images |
| ifconfig | Network interface configuration |
| kextfind | List kernel extensions |
| kextstat | Display status of kernel extensions |
| kextunload | Terminate and unload driver instances |
| launchctl | Manage services |
| mdfind | Spotlight search |
| networksetup | Network and system preferences |
| ntfs.util | NTFS file system utility |
| open | Open a file, folder, url or application |
| osacompile | Compile an Applescript |
| osascript | Run an Applescript |
| pkgutil | Query and manipulate installed packages |
| pmset | Power management settings |
| shutdown | Shutdown, restart or logout from PC |
| say | Convert text to audible speech |
| screencapture | Capture screen image to file |
| scselect | Switch between network locations |
| scutil | Manage system configurations |
| softwareupdate | Software update tool |
| su | Substitute user identity (super-user) |
| sysadminctl | Add, update or delete user accounts. |
| system_profiler | Report system configuration |
| systemsetup | Computer and display settings |
| tmutil | Time Machine utility |
| ufs.util | UFS file system utility |
| Server commands | |
| apachectl | Apache web server control |
| bootpd | BootP and DHCP service |
More information about bash commands for Mac OS, visit, the bash command list page or zsh manual.
4. How do I change the colours for the command prompt?
Open a Terminal window, select Preferences, on the Terminal menu. Select Profiles, then you select a theme and change colours for text and the background.
5. How do I change the command prompt text?
By default, the command prompt is the host name , optional current path followed by a $ or % sign e.g. MacBook:~/Desktop Admin %. This is set by the command export PS1='prompt-string'. The prompt string can contain the following special string to display different values: \d = date, \t = time, \h = host name, \# = command number, \u = user name, \W = short working directory, or \w = full working directory. The command can be saved to .bashrc or .bash_profile for future bash sessions.
6. How do I create scripts?
Script files contain a list of commands to perform simple tasks. Use a text editor such as TextEdit or a command line tool like nano or vim to create your scripts.
Once the script is created, you need to make it executable, by setting the 'x' execute flag using chmod command e.g. chmod +x filename.
For a more user friendly method of scripting use the Apple Automator.
7. Where can I find other command line tools?
For more
advanced scripting languages try AppleScript, Perl, Python, PHP , Javascript or Java..
Python3 and PHP7 can be installed using Brew or MacPorts.
8. Can I run Microsoft's .NET Framework (PowersShell) or DOS commands?
Yes, Microsoft have released .NET Framework Core for Windows, Mac and Linux. Visit the Net Core site and how to install PowerShell.
For legacy MS-DOS type commands, try DosBox.
For Apple II ProDOS, try the Octalyzer emulator.
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