Command Guide for Mac & Linux Terminal

Author: Diego Cuevas

Originally published: 11 March 2022

Updated: 25 March 2022

The Terminal! That mythical app you may come across while exploring your Mac’s or Linux PC’s apps. For most people it’s an utility program which they’ll probably never use, but for a programmer it’s where they’ll live the rest of their lives. Here’s a comprehensive list of useful commands and shortcuts to use while in the Terminal:

Shortcuts:

• Tab -> Auto-complete file and folder names
• Ctrl + A -> Go to the beginning of the line
• Ctrl + E -> Go to the end of the line
• Ctrl + L -> Clear screen
• Ctrl + C -> Kill/stop ongoing processes
  
  

Basic:

• sudo -> Run with administrator/super-user security privileges
• man [cmd] -> Display manual page of specified command
• pwd -> Display current path
• date -> Display current date
• cal -> Display calendar of current month
  
  

Directory management:

• cd [dir] -> Enter directory, use apostrophes for names with spaces
• cd .. -> Move up to the parent directory
• cd ../.. -> Move up two directories
• ls -> Display list of subdirectories and files: -a -> Also display hidden items, -l -> Long listing, -h -> Display file sizes, -t -> List by time modified (most recent first), -s -> Sort by size.
• mkdir [dir] -> Create directory
• rmdir [dir] -> Delete directory, it only works on empty directories
• rm -r [dir] -> Delete a directory and its contents
• mv [dir] [otherDir] -> Move directory to a different directory or subdirectory
• mv [dir] [newDirName] -> Rename directory
  
  

File management:

• ./[exec] -> Run executable file
• open [file] -> Open file: -a -> Specify app (Mac)
• cp [file] [dir] -> Copy file to directory
• rm [file] -> Delete a file: -i -> Prompt confirmation, -f -> Force removal
• mv [file] [newfile] -> Rename a file
• mv [file] [dir] -> Move file to a different directory or subdirectory
• cat > [file] -> Create text file and insert text, specify file extension
• cat [file] -> Display text file
• head [file] -> Display the first 10 lines of a text file: -n -> Show first “n” lines of a text file
• tail [file] -> Display the last 10 lines of a text file: -n -> Show last “n” lines of a text file
• wc [file] -> Word counter, displays number of lines, words and characters in that order: -l -> Display number of lines only, -w -> Display number of words only, -c -> Display number of characters only.
  
  

Permissions:

• chmod -> Change the permissions of a file, directory, link or executable. It uses codes to activate different permission settings: r = 4, w = 2 and x = 1, the sum will generate the permission codes for each of the three groups of permission settings: users, groups and others
  
  

Disk management:

• diskutil -> Disk Utility (Mac)
• cd /volumes/[drive] -> Access Flash Drive, SD Card or Hard Drive (Mac)
  
  

Package management:

• port -> MacPorts package manager: install [package] -> Install package, uninstall [package] -> Uninstall package (Mac)*
• brew -> Homebrew package manager: install [package] -> Install package, uninstall [package] -> Uninstall package (Mac)*
• apt -> Apt package manager: install [package] -> Install package, remove [package] -> Uninstall package (Linux: Ubuntu, Mint, Kali)
• apk -> Apk package manager: add [package] -> Install package, del [package] -> Uninstall package (Linux: Alpine)
  
  

Extra:

• shutdown -> Shut down the computer, -h [hh:mm] -> Shut down the computer at a specific time
• say [word(s)] -> Text-to-speech utility (Mac)
• espeak [word(s)] -> Text-to-speech utility (Linux)
  
  

Git:

• git init -> Initialize repository.
• git add . -> Adds files that aren’t already being tracked to the repository
• git status -> Check the status of the repository
• git commit -m "[message]" -> Make a commit and add a message
• git log -> Show the log of commits
• git checkout . -> Revert back to the last commit
• git merge [branch] -> Merge current branch with other [branch]
  
  

*Usually not pre-installed in the system