Mac Terminal Commands Cheat Sheet

Basic Commands Search File Management System Environment Variables

sudo [command] [arguments] Run commands as admin. find [directory] -name “[file]” Find file in directory. printenv List all environment variables.
touch [file] Create empty file. caffeinate Keep Mac awake.

[command1] | [command2] Pipe command output. find [directory] -name “*txt” Find file by incomplete name. echo $[variable] View variable value.
open [file] Open file. softwareupdate -l Check for updates.

[command] > /dev/null Hide command output. grep "[text]" [file] Look for text in file. export PATH=$PATH:[binary] Export binary to path.
cat [file] Output file contents. sudo softwareupdate -i -a -R Perform updates.

echo [text] Print text to output. [command] | grep "[text]" Look for text in output. export [name]=[value] Export variable.
less [file] See file contents page by page. killall Dock Reset Dock.

history List command history. grep -rl "[text]" [directory] Look for text in directory files. head [file] Output first 10 lines of file. defaults write com.apple.dock Reset LaunchPad.
ResetLaunchPad -bool true; killall
history -[x] Limit history to x items. head -n [x] [file] Print first x lines of file. Dock Shortcuts
![x] Run command from history.
Homebrew Commands nano [file] Edit file in Nano. sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo Flush DNS cache.
killall -HUP mDNSResponder Command - N Open new window.
!! Run previous command. echo "[text]" >> [path]/[file] Append text to file.
brew update Update formulae.
cd ~/Library/Mobile\ Access iCloud documents. Shift - Command - W Close window.
[command] --help Get help for command. cat [file] >> [path]/[file] Append entire file to file. Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/
brew upgrade Upgrade formulae.
Command - T Open new tab.
man [command] Read manual for command. echo "[text]" > [path]/[file] Overwrite file with text. sudo shutdown -r now Restart Mac.
brew upgrade [formula] Upgrade specific formula.
Command - W Close tab.
exit Exit session. cat [file] > [path]/[file] Overwrite file with file. sudo shutdown -h now Shut down Mac.
brew pin [formula] Prevent formula upgrade.
Option - Shift - Command - W Close all terminal instances.

brew unpin [formula] Unpin formula. cp [file] [path] Copy file.

Command - +/- Make text bigger/smaller.

Network brew install [formula] Install formula. cp [file] [new-file] Make copy in directory. Directory Management Command - D Split window in two panes.

brew uninstall [formula] Uninstall formula. cp [file] [path]/[new-file] Copy file with different name.
ping [hostname-or-IP] Test remote connection. pwd Output current directory. Shift - Command - D Close split pane.

brew list --formula List installed formulae. cp “[file]” [path] Copy file with spaces in name.
arp -a View local network devices. cd [path] Go to directory. Control - A Move insertion to beginning.

brew list --cask List installed casks. cp [file1] [file2] [file3] [path] Copy multiple files.
traceroute [hostname-or-IP] View path of packets. cd ~ Go to home directory. Control - E Move insertion to end.

brew deps [formula] List formula dependencies. cp -i [file] [path] Ask for copy confirmation.
ifconfig List network adapters. cd / Go to root directory. Control - U Delete line.

brew outdated --formula List outdated formulae. mv [file] [path] Move file.
ifconfig [network-adapter] See specific network adapter. cd - Previously browsed directory. Control - K Delete text until line end.

brew outdated --cask List outdated casks. mv [file] [new-file] Rename file.
curl -O [URL]/[file] Download file. cd .. Go to parent directory. Option - Left/Right Arrow Move word-by-word.

brew doctor Run troubleshooting. mv [file] [path]/[new-file] Move file and change name.
ssh [user]@[hostname-or-IP] Connect via SSH. cd ../.. Go to two-levels-up directory. Shift - Command - click path Select entire file path.

brew help Read Homebrew help. mv -i [file] [path] Ask for move confirmation.
ssh-keygen Generate SSH key. ls View directory contents. Triple-click the line. Select entire line.

brew cleanup Perform cleanup. mv *.[extension] [path] Move all with same extension.
ssh-copy-id -i [PUB-key] [user] Copy SSH key to remote ls -a View hidden files. Command - X Cut selection.
@[hostname-or-IP] host. rm [file] Remove file.
ls -l View detailed list. Command - C Copy selection.
File Size and Disk Space rm -i [file] Confirm before removal.
ls -S Sort ls output by size. Option - Shift - Command - C Copy plain text.
Processes rm -f [file] Force remove file.
du See utilized disk space. ls -C View in multiple columns. Command - V Paste selection.
rm [file1] [file2] [file3] Remove multiple files.
ps -ax List processes by PID. du -s [file1] [file2] See specific files' utilization. cp -r [directory] [path] Copy directory. Command - F Find text.

ps aux See more details for processes. du -h Human-readable format. ditto [directory] [path] Copy directory contents. Command - E Find preselected text.

du -k Display disk space in kilobytes.

Permissions Command - J Jump to selected text.
top Real time processes list. mv [directory] [path] Move directory.

top -s [seconds] Adjust top refresh rate. du -m | sort -nr Sort by size (descending order). ls -l [file] View file permissions. rm -r [directory] Delete directory. Command - A Select all.

top -o rsize Sort top by RAM memory. df -h Display free disk space. ls -ld [path] View directory permissions. rm -rf [directory] Force delete directory. Control - Command - F Full screen mode on/off.

top -o cpu Sort top by CPU. df -H Free space in powers of 1000. chmod [number] [file] Change file permissions. Command - double-click URL Open URL.

ps -ax | grep [name-or-PID] Find processes. chmod -R [number] [directory] Change directory permissions. Command - P Print.

kill [PID] Kill process. chown [user]:[group] [file] Change file ownership. Command - K Clear all but current prompt.

killall [name] Kill process by name. chown -R [user]:[group] [path] Change directory ownership. Control - Shift - Command - ? Open man pages.