- Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock, type Terminal in the search field, then click Terminal.
- In the Finder , open the /Applications/Utilities folder, then double-click Terminal.
- Go to the Dock and click on the silver rocket icon.
- Select the “Other” folder.
- Choose “Terminal” to launch the command prompt.
Command: “cd“
The “cd” command will change the Terminal directory you’re working in. This allows you to open a file, execute a command, and view the contents of a different directory.
Command: Is
The “Is” command can be used while viewing the files and directories of the current directory. Use the “IS -I” command to find more file information, including the creation date, permissions, and owner.
Command: open
The “open” command will open a file. By entering this command, a space, then the filename you want to access, you will launch the file using the appropriate application, like “Word,” for example.
Command: touch
The “touch” command creates a blank file of any file type. Once your empty file is created, you can launch it in the text editor using the “open” command.
Command: mv
The “mv” command is for when you want to move a file instead of making a copy of it. It will move the specified file from its original location to the new location.
Command: ditto
Just like the English meaning of “ditto,” this command can be used to do the same thing again. It will execute a copy of all the contents of one folder into a folder specified by you. This is ideal if you need to start a new project and use an existing one as the base.
Command: rmdir
The “rmdir” command allows you to remove a directory created in error. If, for example, you misnamed a folder, you can rename it using the “mv” command or delete it using the “rmdir
” command, including the path to the directory.
You'll need the URL of the file you want to download to use Terminal for this.
cd ~/Downloads/curl [URL of the file you want to download]
If you want to download the file to a directory other than your Downloads folder, replace ~/Downloads/ with the path to that folder, or drag it onto the Terminal window after typing the cd command.
By default, macOS saves screenshots as .png files. To change that to .jpg, do this:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type JPG- Press Return.
killall SystemUIServer- Press Return.
- Click “Terminal” from the main Apple menu.
- Choose “Quit Terminal.”
| COMMAND | ACTION |
|---|---|
| cd ~ | Home directory |
| pwd | Show your working directory |
| cd../.. | Move up two levels |
| ls -a | List all entries including those with .(period) and ..(double period) |
| ls -S | Sort files or entries by size |
| ls -la | List detailed directory contents, including hidden files |
| mkdir -p / | Create nested folders |
| mkdir | Create several folders at once |
| rm -f | Force removal without confirmation |
| top -o rsize | Sort top by memory usage |
| brew list --cask | List only installed cask |