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

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softwareupdate

Execute Apple Software update from the commandline

softwareupdate -l     # list available updates

sudo softwareupdate -i -a     # install all available updates

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networksetup

Manage the network configuration

sudo networksetup -listallhardwareports     # list all network interfaces with MAC addresses

sudo networksetup -switchtolocation home     # switch network locations

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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.

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dscacheutil

Manage DNS cache

dscacheutil -flushcache # clear local DNS cache

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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hdiutil

Manage disk images

hdiutil burn animage.dmg     # burn imagefile to cd/dvd

hdiutil create -srcfolder path any.dmg     # create dmg-image from folder

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drutil

Interact with CD/DVD drives

drutil eject     # eject media

drutil status     # show detailed information about drives and media

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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

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pbcopy/pbpaste

Access OSX clipboard

ls | pbcopy     # copy dir listing to clipboard

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periodic

Run periodic system jobs

sudo periodic daily     # run daily stuff

However, any such tasks can be done traditionally with cron as well.

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say

Have the local machine speak to you.

say "I am way cool"

say -v Bruce "Zip zop zoo bitty bop"