| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Tab | Auto-complete files and folder names |
| Ctrl + A | Go to the beginning of the line you are currently typing on |
| Ctrl + E | Go to the end of the line you are 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 + R | Lets you search through previously used commands |
| Ctrl + L or Command + K | Clears the Screen |
| Ctrl + C | Kill whatever you are running |
| Ctrl + D | Exit the current shell |
| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| cd | Home directory |
| cd [folder] | Change directory |
| cd ~ | Home directory, e.g. 'cd ~/folder/' |
| cd / | Root of drive |
| ls | Short listing |
| ls -l | Long listing |
| ls -a | Listing incl. hidden files |
| ls -lh | Long listing with Human readable file sizes |
| ls -R | Entire content of folder recursively |
| sudo [command] | Run command with the security privileges of the superuser (Super User DO) |
| open [file] | Opens a file |
| open . | Opens the directory |
| top | Displays active processes. Press q to quit |
| nano [file] | Opens the Terminal it's editor |
| pico [file] | Opens the Terminal it's editor |
| q | Exit |
| clear | Clear screen |
| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| history n | Shows the stuff typed - add a number to limit the last n items |
| ctrl-r | Interactively search through previously typed commands |
| ![value] | Execute the last command typed that starts with 'value' |
| !! | Execute the last command typed |
| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| touch [file] | Create new file |
| pwd | Full path to working directory |
| .. | Parent/enclosing directory, e.g. |
| ls -l .. | Long listing of parent directory |
| cd ../../ | Move 2 levels up |
| . | Current folder |
| cat | Concatenate to screen |
| rm [file] | Remove a file, e.g. rm [file] [file] |
| rm -i [file] | Remove with confirmation |
| rm -r [dir] | Remove a directory and contents |
| rm -f [file] | Force removal without confirmation |
| rm -i [file] | Will display prompt before |
| cp [file] [newfile] | Copy file to file |
| cp [file] [dir] | Copy file to directory |
| mv [file] [new filename] | Move/Rename, e.g. mv -v [file] [dir] |
| sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/* | Force empty Trash |
| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| mkdir [dir] | Create new directory |
| mkdir -p [dir]/[dir] | Create nested directories |
| rmdir [dir] | Remove directory ( only operates on empty directories ) |
| rm -R [dir] | Remove directory and contents |
| rm -rf ~/.Trash/* | Force empty Trash contents |
| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| find . -print | Will display the path names of all files in the current directory and all subdirectories. |
| find / -name foo | This will search the whole system for any files named foo and display their path names. Here we are using the criterion -name with the argument foo to tell find to perform a name search for the filename foo. |
| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| more | Output content delivered in screensize chunks |
| > [file] | Push output to file, keep in mind it will get overwritten |
| >> [file] | Append output to existing file |
| < | Tell command to read content from a fi |
| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| [command] -h | Offers help |
| [command] --help | Offers help |
| [command] help | Offers help |
| reset | Resets the terminal display |
| man [command] | Show the help for 'command' |
| whatis [command] | Gives a one-line description of 'command' |
| Key/Command | Description |
|---|---|
| killall -KILL Finder | Restarts Finder |
| killall -KILL Dock | Restarts Dock and Spaces |
| killall -KILL SystemUIServer | Restarts the Menubar |