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RicardoBritoBrens/Terminal Commands.md

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Terminal Commands.md

Shortcuts on Mac Terminal

  • Tab Auto-complete file and folder names
  • Ctrl + A Go to the beginning of the line you're currently typing on
  • Ctrl + E Go to the end of the line you're currently typing on
  • Ctrl + U Clear the line before the cursor
  • Ctrl + K Clear the line after the cursor
  • Ctrl + W Delete the word before the cursor
  • Ctrl + T Swap the last two characters before the cursor
  • Esc + T Swap the last two words before the cursor
  • Ctrl + L Clear the screen
  • Ctrl + C Kill whatever you're running
  • Ctrl + D Exit the current shell
  • Option + → Move cursor one word forward
  • Option + ← Move cursor one word backward
  • Ctrl + F Move cursor one character forward
  • Ctrl + B Move cursor one character backward
  • Ctrl + Y Paste whatever was cut by the last command
  • Ctrl + Z Puts whatever you're running into a suspended background process
  • Ctrl + _ Undo the last command

Basics

  • / (Forward Slash): Top level directory
  • . (Single Period): Current directory
  • .. (Double Period): Parent directory
  • ~ (Tilde): Home directory
  • sudo [command] Run command with the security privileges of the super user
  • nano [file] Opens the Terminal editor
  • open [file] Opens a file
  • [command] -h Get help about a command
  • man [command] Show the help manual of the command

Change Directory

  • cd Home directory
  • cd [folder] Change directory, e.g. cd Documents
  • cd ~ Home directory
  • cd/ Root of the drive
  • cd - Previous directory or folder you last browsed
  • pwd Show your working directory
  • cd.. Move up to the parent directory
  • cd../.. Move up two levels

List Directory Contents

  • ls Display the name of files and subdirectories in the directory
  • ls -C Force multi-column output of the listing
  • ls -a List all entries including those with .(period) and ..(double * period)
  • ls -1 Output the list of files in one entry per line format
  • ls -F Display a / (slash) immediately after each path that is a directory,* * (asterisk) after executable programs or scripts, and @ after a * symbolic link
  • ls -S Sort files or entries by size
  • ls -l List in a long format. Includes file mode, owner and group name, * date and time file was modified, pathname, and more
  • ls -lt List the files sorted by time modified (most recent first)
  • ls -lh Long listing with human readable file sizes in KB, MB, or GB
  • ls -lo List the file names with size, owner, and flags
  • ls -la List detailed directory contents, including hidden files

File Size and Disk Space

  • du List usage for each subdirectory and its contents
  • du -sh [folder] Human readable output of all files in a directory
  • du -s Display an entry for each specified file
  • du -sk* | sort -nr List files and folders, totaling the size including * the subfolders. Replace sk* with sm* to list directories in MB
  • df -h Calculate your system's free disk space
  • df -H Calculate free disk space in powers of 1,000 (as opposed to 1,024)

File and Directory Management

  • mkdir Create new folder named
  • mkdir -p /: Create nested folders
  • mkdir <dir1> <dir2> <dir3>: Create several folders at * once
  • mkdir "": Create a folder with a space in the filename
  • rmdir Delete a folder (only works on empty folders)
  • rm -R Delete a folder and its contents
  • touch <file>: Create a new file without any extension
  • cp <file> Copy a file to the folder
  • cp <file> <newfile>:Copy a file to the current folder
  • cp <file>~//<newfile>:Copy a file to the folder and rename * the copied file
  • cp -R <"new dir">:Copy a folder to a new folder with spaces in the * filename
  • cp -i <file>Prompts you before copying a file with a warning * overwrite message
  • cp <file1> <file2> <file3>/Users/Copy multiple files to * a folder
  • rm <file>:Delete a file (This deletes the file permanently; use * with caution.)
  • rm -i <file>:Delete a file only when you give confirmation
  • rm -f <file>:Force removal without confirmation
  • rm <file1> <file2> <file3>:Delete multiple files * without any confirmation
  • mv <file> <newfilename>:Move/rename
  • mv <file> Move a file to the folder, possibly by overwriting an * existing file
  • mv -i <file> Optional -i flag to warn you before overwriting the * file
  • mv *.png ~/Move all PNG files from current folder to a different folder

Command History

  • Ctrl + R:Search through previously used commands
  • history n:Shows the previous commands you've typed. Add a number to * limit to the last n items
  • ![value]:Execute the last command typed that starts with a value
  • !!:Execute the last command typed

Permissions

  • ls -ld: Display the default permission for a home directory
  • ls -ld/Display the read, write, and access permission of a particular folder
  • chmod 755 <file>:Change the permission of a file to 755
  • chmod -R 600 Change the permission of a folder (and its contents) to 600
  • chown <user>:<group> <file>:Change the ownership of a file to user and group. Add -R to include folder contents

Processes

  • ps -ax:Output currently running processes. Here, a shows processes from all users and x shows processes that are not connected with the Terminal
  • ps -aux:Shows all the processes with %cpu, %mem, page in, PID, and command
  • top:Display live information about currently running processes
  • top -ocpu -s 5:Display processes sorted by CPU usage, updating every 5 seconds
  • top -o rsize:Sort top by memory usage

Network

  • ping <host>:Ping host and display status
  • whois <domain>:Output whois info for a domain
  • curl -O <url/to/file>:Download file via HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP
  • ssh <username>@<host>:Establish SSH connection to <host> with user <username>
  • scp <file><user>@<host>:/remote/path:Copy <file> to a remote <host>

Homebrew

  • brew doctor:Check brew for potential problems
  • brew install <formula>:Install a formula
  • brew uninstall <formula>:Uninstall a formula
  • brew list:List all the installed formulas
  • brew search:Display available formulas for brewing
  • brew upgrade:Upgrade all outdated and unpinned brews
  • brew update:Fetch latest version of homebrew and formula
  • brew cleanup:Remove older version of installed formula
  • brew tap homebrew/cask:Tap the cask repository from GitHub
  • brew cask list:List all installed casks
  • brew cask install <cask>:Install the given cask
  • brew cask uninstall <cask>:Uninstall the given cask

Search

  • find -name <"file">:Find all files named <file> inside . Use wildcards (*) to search for parts of filenames
  • grep "<text>" <file>:Output all occurrences of <text> inside <file> (add -i for case insensitivity)
  • grep -rl "<text>" Search for all files containing <text> inside

Output

  • cat <file>:Output the content of <file>
  • less <file>:Output the contents of <file> using the less command that supports pagination and more
  • head <file>:Output the first 10 lines of <file>
  • <cmd> > > <file>:Appends the output of <cmd> to <file>
  • <cmd> > <file>:Direct the output of <cmd> into <file>
  • <cmd1> | <cmd2>:Direct the output of <cmd1> to <cmd2>
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