Mac Terminal command-line interface (CLI) cheatsheet
Last updated on March 26th, 2021
summary
- syntax
- editing shortcuts
- navigation commands
- history commands
- file and directory management commands
- applications management commands
- system commands
- CLI-based applications commands
This is the syntax I use throughout this cheatsheet:
| syntax | description |
|---|---|
| $ | a shell prompt |
| text in monospaced font | a command or other terminal text |
| [text in brackets] | an optional parameter |
| underlined text | a parameter you must replace with a value |
| […] | a parameter that might be repeated |
| / | the top level directory a.k.a. folder |
| . | the current directory |
| .. | the parent directory |
| ~ | the home directory |
| editing shortcuts | description |
|---|---|
Ctrl ⌃ + A then Ctrl ⌃ + K or Ctrl ⌃ + E then Ctrl ⌃ + U |
delete the entire line of text |
Ctrl ⌃ + U |
delete the line of text before the cursor |
Ctrl ⌃ + K |
delete the line of text after the cursor |
Ctrl ⌃ + Hor delete |
delete the character before the cursor |
Ctrl ⌃ + W |
delete the word before the cursor |
Ctrl ⌃ + A |
move cursor to beginning of the line |
Ctrl ⌃ + E |
move cursor to end of the line |
Ctrl ⌃ + T |
swap the last two characters before the cursor |
Esc + T |
swap the last two words before the cursor |
| navigation commands | description |
|---|---|
| $ pwd | display path to current directory |
| $ cd [~] | go to home directory |
| $ cd directory-relative-path | go to directory |
| $ cd / | go to root of the drive |
| $ cd - | go back to previous directory |
| $ cd .. | go to parent/enclosing directory |
| $ cd ../.. | go to parent/enclosing directory of parent/enclosing directory |
| $ q | exit |
| $ clear or Ctrl ⌃ + L or Command ⌘ + K |
clear screen |
Tab |
auto-complete file and directory names |
| history commands | description |
|---|---|
| $ history n | display n previously typed commands |
arrow up |
display previously typed commands one by one |
Ctrl ⌃ + R then search-query then Ctrl ⌃ + R to display anterior match |
search history of commands previously used in Terminal |
| file and directory management commands | description |
|---|---|
| $ ls | display list of items in current directory |
| $ ls -a | display list of items and hidden items of current directory |
| $ ls -lh | display list of items with details, with size in human readable format |
| $ ls -lSh | display list of items with details, sorted by size in descending order, in human readable format |
| $ touch file-name.extension-name | create a new file |
| $ cp source-path destination-path | copy a file |
| $ mv current-file-name new-file-name | rename a file |
| $ mv source-path destination-path | move a file |
| $ mv keyword* destination-path | move all files starting with a specific keyword |
| $ mv *keyword* destination-path | move all files including a specific keyword |
| $ rm file | remove file |
| $ rm -i file | remove file with prompt asking for confirmation yes/no |
| $ rm -r directory | remove a directory and contents |
| $ mkdir name-of-new-directory | create a directory |
| $ cat file | display the content of a file in the Terminal |
| drag the file or folder to the Terminal window | display the path of a file or folder |
| $ find directory -name file | find a file in a directory |
| $ open file | open a file with the default application |
| $ open file -a application | open a file with a specific application |
| $ open directory -a application | open all files in a directory with a specific application |
| applications management commands | description |
|---|---|
| $ open -a application-name | open an application from any directory (-a) |
| $ open -a “tor browser” | open an application (with a space in its name) from any directory |
| $ open https://yctct.com | open a url in your default browser |
| $ nano | open terminal text editor |
| system commands | description |
|---|---|
| $ df -h | display disk usage information of a file system in human readable format |
| $ du -sh | display size information of a file or a directory in human readable format |
| $ du -sh * | display size information of items in a directory in human readable format |
| $ date | display current date and time |
| $ TZ=time-zone date | display current date and time of a particular time zone (you can find the list of time zones in the zoneinfo file located at /usr/share/zoneinfo on a Mac). |
| $ cal | display current month calendar |
| $ cal year | display 12-month calendar of year |
| $ caffeinate -d | prevent display from sleeping |
| $ caffeinate | keep Mac awake as long as the Terminal is running. To stop process: Ctrl ⌃ + C |
| $ caffeinate -t n in second | keep you Mac awake for a set number of second |
| $ diskutil unmount drive | unmount drive (e.g. USB stick, hard drive), so that you can physically remove it safely (i.e. “eject safely”) |
| $ sudo shutdown -r now | restart a Mac |
| $ sudo shutdown -h now | shutdown a Mac |
| CLI-based application commands | description |
|---|---|
| $ curl wttr.in | display weather of current location (based on IP address) |
| $ curl wttr.in/city | display weather in any city (blog post coming soon, subscribe to RSS feed) |
| $ ddgr search query | display search query from DuckDuckGo (blog post coming soon, subscribe to RSS feed) |
| $ wikit search query | display summary of a Wikipedia page |
Hey, I’m writing a book to explain the nature of our relation with “tech platforms” (e.g. Facebook, Google), and the impact our usage of platforms has on our autonomy, individuality, desire, and intimacy.
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