terminal cheat sheet

Reference:

An A-Z Index of the Apple macOS (OSX) command line - SS64 Command line reference

List

• afinfo Audio File Info
• afplay Audio File Play
• airport Manage Apple AirPort
• alias Create an alias *
• alloc List used and free memory
• apropos Search the whatis database for strings
• asr Apple Software Restore
• atsutil Font registration system utility
• awk Find and Replace text within file(s)
• basename Convert a full pathname to just a filename
• bash Bourne-Again SHell
• bg Send to background *
• bind Set or display readline key and function bindings *
• bless Set volume bootability and startup disk options
• break Exit from a For, While, Until or Select loop *
• builtin Execute a shell builtin *
• bzip2 Compress or decompress files
• caffeinate Prevent the system from sleeping
• cal Display a calendar
• calendar Reminder Service
• caller Return the context of a subroutine call *
• cancel Cancel print jobs
• case Conditionally perform a command *
• cat Concatenate and print (display) the content of files
• cd Change Directory *
• chflags Change a file or folder’s flags
• chgrp Change group ownership
• chmod Change 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
• csplit Split a file into context-determined pieces
• csrutil Configure System Integrity Protection (SIP)
• cupsfilter Convert a file to another format using cups filters
• curl Transfer data from or to a server
• cut Divide a file into several parts
• d
• date Display or change the date & time
• dc Desk Calculator
• dd Convert and copy a file, clone disks
• 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
• dseditgroup Edit, create, manipulate, or delete groups
• dsenableroot Enable root access
• dsmemberutil View user and groups rights
• dscl Directory Service command line utility
• du Estimate file space usage
• echo Display text on screen *
• ed A line-oriented text editor (edlin)
• enable Enable and disable builtin shell commands *
• env List or Set environment variables
• eval Evaluate several commands/arguments *
• exec Execute a command *
• exit Exit the shell *
• execsnoop Snoop new process execution
• expand Convert tabs to spaces
• expect Programmed dialogue with interactive programs
• export Set an environment variable *
• expr Evaluate expressions
• false Do nothing, unsuccessfully
• fc Fix command (history)
• fdisk Partition table manipulator for Darwin UFS/HFS/DOS
• fdesetup FileVault configuration, list FileVault users
• 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 *
• fsck Filesystem consistency check and repair
• fs_usage Filesystem usage (process/pathname)
• ftp Internet file transfer program
• function Define Function Macros
• fuser List processes that have one or more files open
• GetFileInfo Get attributes of HFS+ files
• getopt Parse positional parameters
• getopts Parse positional parameters *
• 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
• halt Stop and restart the operating system
• 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
• iconv Convert the character set of a file
• id Print user and group names/id’s
• if Conditionally perform a command *
• ifconfig Configure network interface parameters
• iostat Report CPU and i/o statistics
• ipconfig View and control IP configuration state
• info Help info
• install Copy files and set attributes
• iosnoop Snoop I/O events as they occur
• jobs List active jobs *
• join Join lines on a common field
• kextfind List kernel extensions
• kextstat Display status of loaded kernel extensions (kexts)
• kextunload Terminate driver instances and unload kernel extensions.
• kickstart Configure Apple Remote Desktop
• kill Kill a process by specifying its PID
• killall Kill processes by name
• 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) *
• look Display lines beginning with a given string
• lp Print files
• 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
• man Help manual
• mdfind Spotlight search
• mdutil Manage Spotlight metadata store
• mkdir Create new folder(s)
• mkfifo Make FIFOs (named pipes)
• mkfile Make a file
• mktemp Make a temporary file
• more Display output one screen at a time
• mount Mount a file system
• mv Move or rename files or directories
• nano Simple text editor
• nc/netcat Read and write data across networks
• 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
• nvram Manipulate firmware variables
• onintr Control the action of a shell interrupt
• open Open a file/folder/URL/Application
• opensnoop Snoop file opens as they occur
• openssl OpenSSL command line
• osacompile Compile Applescript
• osascript Execute AppleScript
• passwd Modify a user password
• paste Merge lines of files
• pbcopy Copy data to the clipboard
• pbpaste Paste data from the Clipboard
• pgrep List processes by a full or partial name
• ping Test a network connection
• pkill Kill processes by a full or partial name
• pkgbuild Build a macOS Installer component package
• 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 List environment variables
• printf Format and print data *
• ps Process status
• pushd Save and then change the current directory
• pwd Print Working Directory *
• quota Display disk usage and limits
• 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
• ReportCrash Enable/Disable crash reporting
• 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
• say Convert text to audible speech
• screen Multiplex terminal, run remote shells via ssh
• screencapture Capture screen image to file or disk
• scselect Switch between network locations
• scutil Manage system configuration parameters
• sdiff Merge two files interactively
• security Administer Keychains, keys, certificates and the Security framework
• sed Stream Editor
• select Generate a list of items *
• serverinfo Server information
• set Set a shell variable = value *
• setfile Set attributes of HFS+ files
• sharing Create share points for afp, ftp and smb services
• shasum Print or Check SHA Checksums
• shift Shift positional parameters *
• shopt Set shell options *
• shutdown Shutdown or restart macOS
• sips Scriptable image processing system
• sleep Delay for a specified time
• softwareupdate System software update tool
• sort Sort text files
• source Execute commands from a file *
• spctl Security assessment policy/Gatekeeper
• split Split a file into fixed-size pieces
• sqlite3 SQL database (download history)
• srm Securely remove files or directories
• stat Display the status of a file
• 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 macOS operating system version
• sysctl Get or set kernel state
• system_profiler Report system configuration
• systemsetup Computer and display system settings
• tail Output the last part of files
• tar Tape ARchiver
• tccutil Manage the privacy database
• tcpdump Dump traffic on a network
• tee Redirect output to multiple files
• test Condition evaluation *
• textutil Manipulate text files in various formats (Doc,html,rtf)
• time Measure Program Resource Use
• times Print shell & shell process times *
• tmutil Time Machine utility
• top Display process information
• touch Change file timestamps
• tput Set terminal-dependent capabilities, color, position
• tr Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters
• trap Execute a command when the shell receives a signal *
• traceroute Trace Route to Host
• trimforce Enable TRIM commands on third-party drives
• true Do nothing, successfully
• tty Print filename of terminal on stdin
• type Describe a command *
• 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 *
• uptime Show how long system has been running
• users Print login names of users currently logged in
• until Execute commands (until error)
• uuencode Encode a binary file
• uudecode Decode a file created by uuencode
• uuidgen Generate a Unique ID (UUID/GUID)
• uucp Unix to Unix copy
• vi Text Editor
• wait Wait for a process to complete *
• wall Write a message to users
• wc Print byte, word, and line counts
• whatis Search the whatis database for complete words
• whereis Locate a program
• which Locate a program file in the user’s path
• while Loop command *
• who Print all usernames currently logged on
• whoami Print the current user id and name (`id -un’)
• write Send a message to another user
• xargs Execute utility - passing arguments
• xattr Display and manipulate extended attributes
• xcode-select —install Install the command line developer tools
• youtube-dl Download video
• yes Print a string until interrupted
• zip Package and compress (archive) files.
• !! Run the last command again
• Commands marked * are bash /built-in/ commands. bash is the default shell, it runs under Darwin the open source core of macOS.