| Key / Command | Description |
|---|---|
| cd [path] | Change direcotory |
| cd | Home directory |
| cd ~ | Home directory |
| cd / | Root of drive |
| cd - | Previous directory |
| 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 security privileges of the superuser (Super User Do) |
| open [file] | Open a file (as if you double clicked it |
| top | Displays active processes. Press q to quit |
| nano [file] | Opens the file using the nano editor |
| vim [file] | Opens the file using the vim editor |
| clear | Clears the screen |
| reset | Resets teh terminal display |
| Key / Command | Description |
|---|---|
| [command-a]; [command-b] | Run command A and then B, regardless of success of A |
| [command-a] && [command-b] | Run command B if A succeded |
| [command] & | Run command in backgroud |
| Key / Command | Description |
|---|---|
| [command-a] | [command-b] | Run command A and then pass the result to command B |
| Key / Command | Description |
|---|---|
| history n | Shows the stuff typed - add a number to limit the last n times |
| 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 a new file |
| pwd | Full path to working directory |
| . | Current folder, e.g. ls . |
| .. | Parent/enclosing directory, e.g. ls .. |
| ls -l .. | Long listing of parent directory |
| cd ../../ | Move 2 levels up |
| cat | Concatenate to screen |
| rm [file] | Remove a file, e.g. rm data.tmp |
| rm -i [file] | Remove with confirmation |
| rm -r [dir] | Remove a directory and contents |
| rm -f [file] | Force removal without confirmation |
| cp [file] [newfile] | Copy file to file |
| cp [file] [dir] | Copy file to directory |
| mv [file] [new filename] | Move/Rename, e.g. mv file1.ad /tmp |
| pbcopy < [file] | Copies file contents to clipboard |
| pbpaste | Paste clipboard contents |
| pbpaste > [file] | Paste clipboard contents into file, pbpaste > paste-test.txt |
| 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 |
| [command] | [command] | Allows to combine multiple commands that generate output, e.g. `cat data.txt |
| less | Output content delivered in screensize chunks |
| [command] > [file] | Push output to file, keep in mind it will get overwritten |
| [command] >> [file] | Append output to existing file |
[command] < [file] |
Tell command to read content from a file |
| Key / Command | Description |
|---|---|
| find [dir] -name [search_pattern] | Search for files, e.g. find /Users -name "file.txt" |
| grep [search_pattern] [file] | Search for all lines that contain the pattern, e.g. grep "Tom" file.txt |
| grep -r [search_pattern] [file] | Recursively search for all lines that contain the pattern |
| grep -v [search_pattern] [file] | Search for all lines that do NOT contain the pattern |
| grep -i [search_pattern] [file] | Search for all lines that contain the case-insensitive pattern |
| mdfind [search_pattern] | Spotlight search for files (names, content, other metadata), e.g. mdfind skateboard |
| mdfind -onlyin [dir] -name [pattern] | Spotlight search for files named like pattern in the given directory |
| Key / Command | Description |
|---|---|
| [command] -h | Offers help |
| [command] --help | Offers help |
| info [command] | Offers help |
| man [command] | Show the help manual for [command] |
| whatis [command] | Gives a one-line description of [command] |
| apropos [search-pattern] | Searches for command with keywords in description |