Mac terminal commands useful how to#
Mac terminal commands useful archive#
Mac terminal commands useful free#

Mac terminal commands useful how to#

Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal takes the high road, with Joe Kissell employing his friendly, practical style to explain how to create shell scripts to automate tasks (complete with variables, user input, conditional statements, loops, and math), control other Macs via ssh, get started with key Unix techniques like piping and redirection, use grep to search for text patterns in files, and install new command-line software with package managers.įor many Mac users unaccustomed to the command line, the hardest part is realizing what it can do. Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal It’s that overlap problem-everyone needs to understand the basics of working in Terminal, entering commands, navigating the filesystem, reading the man pages, and so on. Unsurprisingly, both books cover much of the same ground at the start.

And, although I don’t know Armin Briegel well, we periodically see each other at conferences, and many years ago at MacTech, he graciously wrote an AppleScript for me that I continue to use to populate my calendar with Monday events for each numbered TidBITS issue.) However, we sold Take Control to Joe in May 2017 and no longer have any financial interest in the book or the company. (Full disclosure: Joe originally wrote Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal when Tonya and I owned Take Control Books, and I had significant input into its development. Two books, Joe Kissell’s just-updated Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal ($14.99 from Take Control Books) and Armin Briegel’s new macOS Terminal and Shell ($19.99 on Apple Books), promise to help you become more capable at the command line, whether you’re just starting out or would benefit from admin-level chops. Just as you know how to traverse the filesystem in the Finder by double-clicking folders and opening files, you need to know those basics at the command line as well. That’s not to say that there isn’t a vast amount of overlap. Most of the time, when I drop to the command line to do something, it’s because it would be difficult or impossible to accomplish the task using the Finder, BBEdit, or any other native Mac app. If you’re like me, perhaps the most important point to be made about the command line is that it’s seldom an either/or question. That’s certainly true of me-I can use grep at the command line if necessary, but I’ll rely on BBEdit instead if at all possible. Many of us fall somewhere in the middle, aware of the command line’s power but more comfortable in native Mac apps. On the other end of the spectrum are those who are fluent in Unix-like operating systems and spend more time at the command line than they do in graphical apps. For the majority of Mac users, the command line is largely a curiosity that goes unexplored. TidBITS readers likely know that macOS is based on Unix and that opening the Terminal enables them to interact with files, folders, and apps at the command line. #1624: Important OS security updates, rescuing QuickTake 150 photos, AirTag alerts while travelingĪ Pair of Books for Learning the Mac Command Line.

Mac terminal commands useful free#

#1625: Apple's 'Far Out' event, the future of FileMaker, free NMUG membership, Quick Note and tags in Notes, Plex suffers data breach.#1626: AirTag replacement battery gotcha, Kindle Kids software flaws, iOS 12.5.6 security fix.

Mac terminal commands useful archive#

#1627: iPhone 14 lineup, Apple Watch SE/Series 8/Ultra, new AirPods Pro, iOS 16 and watchOS 9 released, Steve Jobs Archive.

#1628: iPhone 14 impressions, Dark Sky end-of-life, tales from Rogue Amoeba.