Mac Commandline Tools
This is a list of commands specific to Mac OSX 10.4+. It is important to note that some commands have arguments that differ from one os version to the other but overall it is accurate of the latest software builds.
System Management
systemsetup
Manage a variety of configuration stuff.
sudo systemsetup -getdate # view system date systemsetup -getcomputername # display computer name
softwareupdate
Execute Apple Software update from the commandline
softwareupdate -l # list available updates sudo softwareupdate -i -a # install all available updates
networksetup
Manage the network configuration
sudo networksetup -listallhardwareports # list all network interfaces with MAC addresses sudo networksetup -switchtolocation home # switch network locations
dscl
Directory service management, for example users, groups etc.
- See also adduser script.
dscl localhost -list /Local/Default/Users # list all local users
Users are added from the command line with dscl. In OSX, it is done as such:
dscl . -create /Users/username # creates the new user entry. The "." specifies the local machine and "-create" is the verb which directs the command. dscl . -create /Users/username UserShell /bin/bash # sets the default shell for said user dscl . -create /Users/username Realname "user name" # the alternative name used optionally by OSX to log in dscl . -create /Users/username UniqueID 503 # set a unique number id for the user dscl . -create /Users/username PrimaryGroupID 1000 # sets the primary group id. In OSX the admin groups are usually either administrator or staff. dscl . -create /Users/username NFSHomeDirectory /Local/Users/username # sets the user's home directory dscl . -passwd /Users/username password # sets the user's password dscl . -append /Groups/admin GroupMembership username
As a note, to list all available groups and their ids, you can type
dscacheutil -q group
And passwords can be set or changed in the traditional linux way with
passwd username
But all of this is simplified by our in-house adduser script:
adduser script
This is a shell script designed to do all of the above dscl commands automatically, asking only for the user's input.
dscacheutil
Manage DNS cache
dscacheutil -flushcache # clear local DNS cache
system_profiler
View system information (Like SystemProfiler.app in Utilities)
system_profiler # list all information on system available. It is A LOT OF INFO!! system_profiler -detaillevel basic # lists only hardware and network information system_profiler SPHardwareDataType # lists a hardware overview of the local system system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType # lists a software overview of the local system system_profiler -xml filename >/Users/username/Documents/sys-info.xml # generates an xml file rather than plain text output.
sysctl
Display or set the kernel state. Commonly used to retrieve information on the system such as
sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string # display information on the processor sysctl -a | grep hw.memsize # list the amount of memory in the system
File Management
chflags
Change file flags, like “hidden”, “archived”..
chflags -R -V hidden /some/file.txt # hides the specified file from the gui ls -l0 # View flags in the current directory
GetFileInfo
View extended file attributes, like icon, creator and so on. To write these attributes use SetFileInfo
GetFileInfo any.txt # list the attributes of a specified file
mdutil/mdfind
Manage Spotlight and search it's cache
mdutil -s / # show indexing status on root drive mdfind -name "filename" # similar to find, check the cache for a specified file or directory
Storage Management
diskutil
Manage local disks
diskutil list # list local drives and partitions diskutil activity # monitor activity on the local disk diskutil repairvolume disk0s1 # attempt to repair the specified partition diskutil checkraid # display status of local RAID arrays diskutil appleRAID update AutoRebuild 1 disk0 # set the specified disk path to automatically be rebuild if the array is broken diskutil repairPermissions / # repair any improper permissions caused by third-party software or updates diskutil randomDisk 3 /dev/disk0 # erase the specified disk by writing random 1s and 0s to the entire disk using 3 passes diskutil secureErase 4 /dev/disk0 # erase the specified disk with a DoD algorithm using 3 passes
hdiutil
Manage disk images
hdiutil burn animage.dmg # burn imagefile to cd/dvd hdiutil create -srcfolder path any.dmg # create dmg-image from folder
drutil
Interact with CD/DVD drives
drutil eject # eject media drutil status # show detailed information about drives and media
Misc
curl
Retrieve websites or files on those websites much like wget.
curl -OL http://www.freegeek.org/index.php # download the index page of our website
For those who are resistant to change, most people can simply set an alias to sidestep curl and use it like wget:
echo 'alias wget="curl -O"' >> ~/.bash_profile
open
Open a file with a given application in the gui.
open example.txt # opens the file in the default text editor open . # opens a new finder window with the current commandline path open -a Safari # opens Safari
pbcopy/pbpaste
Access OSX clipboard
ls | pbcopy # copy dir listing to clipboard
periodic
Run periodic system jobs
sudo periodic daily # run daily stuff
However, any such tasks can be done traditionally with cron as well.
say
Have the local machine speak to you.
say "I am way cool" say -v Bruce "Zip zop zoo bitty bop"