List of Mac OS X command line for terminal

[Computergizmo]

An A-Z Index of the Apple OS X command line

Screen Shots on how to enter Terminal on The Bottom

To ender code do the following:

1) Open Terminal (Applications => Utilities => Terminal.app)

2) ender the code and hit return (enter) e.g: date

that's it.

A:

alias Create an alias of file
alloc gives you a list of used and free memory
awk It will Find and Replace text within file(s)

B:

basename Convert a full pathname to just a folder path
bash Bourne-Again SHell
bg Send to background
bind Display readline key and function bindings
bless Set volume bootability and startup disk options.
break Will Exit from a For, While, Until or Select loop


C:

cal Show a calendar in terminal
caller Will Return the context of a subroutine call
case Conditionally perform a command (used in programming)
cat Snow the contents of a file
cd Got to another Directory
chflags Changes the file or folder's flags
chgrp Changes the group's ownership
chmod Changes the access permissions
chown Change file owner and group
chroot Run a command with a different root directory
cksum Print CRC checksum and byte counts
clear Clear terminal screen
cmp Compare two files
comm Compare two sorted files line by line
command Run a command (not a function)
complete Edit a command completion [word/pattern/list]
continue Resume the next iteration of a loop
cp Copy one or more files to another location
cron Daemon to execute scheduled commands
crontab Schedule a command to run at a later date/time
cut Divide a file into several parts

D:

date Display or change the date & time
dc Desk Calculator
dd Data Dump - Convert and copy a file
declare Declare variable & set attributes
defaults Set preferences, show hidden files
df Display free disk space
diff Display the differences between two files
diff3 Show differences among three files
dig DNS lookup
dirname Convert a full pathname to just a path
dirs Display list of remembered directories
diskutil Disk utilities - Format, Verify, Repair
disown Unbind a job from the current login session
ditto Copy files and folders
dot_clean Remove dot-underscore files
drutil Interact with CD/DVD burners
dscacheutil Query or flush the Directory Service/DNS cache
dscl Directory Service command line utility
du Estimate file space usage

E:

echo Display message on screen
ed A line-oriented text editor (edlin)
enable Enable and disable builtin shell commands
env Set environment and run a utility
eval Evaluate several commands/arguments
exec Execute a command
exit Exit the shell
expand Convert tabs to spaces
expect Programmed dialogue with interactive programs
Also see AppleScript
export Set an environment variable
expr Evaluate expressions

F:

false Do nothing, unsuccessfully
fc Fix command (history)
fdisk Partition table manipulator for Darwin UFS/HFS/DOS
fg Send job to foreground
file Determine file type
find Search for files that meet a desired criteria
fmt Reformat paragraph text
fold Wrap text to fit a specified width
for Loop command for programming
fsck Filesystem consistency check and repair
fsaclctl Filesystem enable/disable ACL support
fs_usage Filesystem usage (process/pathname)
ftp Internet file transfer program

G:

GetFileInfo Get attributes of HFS+ files
goto Jump to label and continue execution
grep Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern
groups Print group names a user is in
gzip Compress or decompress files

H:

hash Refresh the cached/remembered location of commands
head Display the first lines of a file
hdiutil Manipulate iso disk images
history Command History
hostname Print or set system name

I:

id Print user and group names/id's
if Conditionally perform a command
info Help info
install Copy files and set attributes

J:

jobs List active jobs
join Join lines on a common field

K:

kextfind List kernel extensions
kickstart Configure Apple Remote Desktop
kill Stop a process from running

L:

l List files in long format (ls -l)
last Indicate last logins of users and ttys
launchctl Load or unload daemons/agents
ll List files in long format, showing invisible files (ls -la)
less Display output one screen at a time
let Evaluate expression
lipo Convert a universal binary
ln Make links between files (hard links, symbolic links)
local Set a local (function) variable
locate Find files
logname Print current login name
login log into the computer
logout Exit a login shell (bye)
lpr Print files
lprm Remove jobs from the print queue
lpstat Printer status information
ls List information about file(s)
lsregister Reset the Launch Services database
lsbom List a bill of materials file
lsof List open files

M:

man Help manual
mdfind Spotlight search
mdutil Manage Spotlight metadata store
mkdir Create new folder(s)
mkfifo Make FIFOs (named pipes)
more Display output one screen at a time
mount Mount a file system
mv Move or rename files or directories

N:

net Manage network resources
netstat Show network status
networksetup Network and System Preferences
nice Set the priority of a command
nohup Run a command immune to hangups
ntfs.util NTFS file system utility

O:

onintr Control the action of a shell interrupt
open Open a file/folder/URL/Application
osacompile Compile Applescript
osascript Execute AppleScript

P:

passwd Modifies the user password
paste Merge lines of files
pbcopy Copy data to the clipboard
pbpaste Paste data from the Clipboard
pico Simple text editor
ping Test a network connection
pkgutil Query and manipulate installed packages
plutil Property list utility
pmset Power Management settings
popd Restore the previous value of the current directory
pr Convert text files for printing
printenv Print environment variables
printf Format and print data
ps Process status
pushd Save and then change the current directory
pwd Print Working Directory

Q:

quota Display disk usage and limits

R:

rcp Copy files between machines
read Read one line from standard input
readonly Mark a variable or function as read-only
reboot Stop and restart the system
return Exit a function •
rev Reverse lines of a file
rm Remove files
rmdir Remove folder(s)
rpm Remote Package Manager
rsync Remote file copy - Sync file tree (also RsyncX)

S:

say Convert text to audible speech
screen Multiplex terminal, run remote shells via ssh
screencapture Capture screen image to file or disk
sdiff Merge two files interactively
security Administer Keychains, keys, certificates and the Security framework
sed Stream Editor
select Generate a list of items
set Set a shell variable = value
setfile Set attributes of HFS+ files
shift Shift positional parameters
shopt Set shell options
shutdown Shutdown or restart OS X
sleep Delay for a specified time
softwareupdate System software update tool
sort Sort text files
source Execute commands from a file
split Split a file into fixed-size pieces
stop Stop a job or process
su Substitute user identity
sudo Execute a command as another user
sum Print a checksum for a file
suspend Suspend execution of this shell
sw_vers Print Mac OS X operating system version
system_profiler Report system configuration
systemsetup Computer and display system settings

T:

tail Output the last part of files
tar Tape ARchiver
tee Redirect output to multiple files
test Condition evaluation
textutil Manipulate text files in various formats such as Doc,html,rtf
time Measure Program Resource Use
times Print shell & shell process times
touch Change file timestamps
tr Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters
trap Execute a command when the shell receives a signal
traceroute Trace Route to Host
true Do nothing, successfully
tty Print filename of terminal on stdin
type Describe a command

U:

ufs.util Mount/unmount UFS file system
ulimit limit the use of system-wide resources
umask Users file creation mask
umount Unmount a device
unalias Remove an alias
uname Print system information
unexpand Convert spaces to tabs
uniq Uniquify files
units Convert units from one scale to another
unset Remove variable or function names
until Loop command
users Print login names of users currently logged in
uuencode Encode a binary file
uudecode Decode a file created by uuencode
uuidgen Generate a Unique ID (UUID/GUID)
uucp Unix to Unix copy

V:

vi Text Editor

W:

wait Wait for a process to complete
wc Print byte, word, and line counts
where Report all known instances of a command
which Locate a program file in the user's path
while Loop command for programming
who Print all usernames currently logged on
whoami Print the current user id and name (`id -un')
write Writes a message to another user

X:

xargs Execute utility - passing arguments
yes Print a string until interrupted

Screen Schots:

[Fahad]

Nice thread, Thanks

[DoFoT9]

this will come in very handy thanks

[Computergizmo]

how would i use a sudu command? and your welcome guys.

[Omi]

Sudo is just a command in terminal with sudo in it.

Terminal WILL ask you for admin password.

[Computergizmo]

Ok thank you.....

STICKY

[PatrickTimmons]

I just can wait until I can find the time to make about 6 or them just in case I need one or two. You have a lot of great ideas and we really appreciate them to the max.