Using programs and commands that do not have a graphical user interface (GUI) but are rather controlled by typing text commands into a terminal program, or shell.
39
votes
12answers
24k views
Is there a Mac OS X Terminal version of the “free” command in Linux systems?
On Linux, I often use the free command to see the current amount of free and used memory in the system. For example:
$ free
total used free shared buffers cached
...
27
votes
7answers
11k views
What is the difference between iTerm2 and Terminal?
I keep hearing that iTerm2 is much better than Terminal. I downloaded iTerm2 today and played around with it, but I couldn't see what is so much better about iTerm2. iTerm2 seemed just like Terminal.
...
20
votes
4answers
30k views
Can I open files in TextEdit from the Terminal in Mac OS X?
I frequently find that a terminal command to open a file in TextEdit would be very handy. Does such a command exist on Mac OS X?
20
votes
5answers
4k views
How to move files to trash from command line?
I do a lot of terminal work, and today had the experience of typing
rm fileInQuestion.txt
Before finding out that I did actually need fileInQuestion.txt. If I'd deleted in the GUI then I would have ...
18
votes
7answers
30k views
Why doesn't .bashrc run automatically?
I put some alias commands in my .bashrc file, so that they might be loaded everytime I open a new Terminal window. Yet this doesn't happen.
I have to select run script: in the ...
16
votes
2answers
6k views
How can git auto-complete branches at the terminal command line?
On my linux machine I have autocomplete for branches with git.
For example I can type git checkout [TAB] and get a list of branches.
Or I can type git checkout feb* [TAB] to get all branches that ...
16
votes
1answer
8k views
MacPorts vs. Fink vs. Homebrew
I always used MacPorts to install and maintain my GCC compilers (4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, ...) and gnuplot. Now I've heard about Fink and Homebrew. I think these two utilities are gaining ground in the Mac ...
15
votes
5answers
15k views
How to always show menubar with fullscreen apps?
Does anyone know if it is possible to keep the menubar in Mac OS Lion visible for fullscreen apps instead of hidden until hovered over with a mouse or trackpad?
I imagine there's some Terminal ...
14
votes
8answers
9k views
Password dialog appears when SSH private key permissions are set to 0600
I installed my SSH private key in ~/.ssh/id_rsa and set its permissions to 0600. When I connect to an SSH server which uses my private key in Terminal.app via ssh, a dialog pops up and asks me to ...
12
votes
2answers
3k views
Linux' `ps f` (tree view) equivalent on OSX?
How can I get a tree view like the one below on OSX?
vartec@some_server:~$ ps xf
PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND
11519 ? S 0:00 sshd: vartec@pts/0
11520 pts/0 Ss 0:00 \_ -bash
...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
Can Mac App Store installs & upgrades be automated?
How can I script installing or upgrading apps from the Mac App Store? I'd prefer command line tools, but AppleScript or some other API would suffice.
Relevant puzzle pieces:
installer: note ...
10
votes
2answers
416 views
cd to a directory just by typing its name?
For example if a directory 'blob' exists, I just type 'blob[return]' and the system cds into the blob directory for me.
In Linux (Ubuntu) I can use shopt -s autocd and I add it to my .bashrc file, ...
10
votes
1answer
8k views
Can I get the CPU temperature and fan speed from the command line in OS X?
Is there a command I can run from the command line in OS X to get the current CPU temperature and/or the fan speed(s)?
To be more specific, I'd like to be able to get the same info available in the ...
10
votes
1answer
246 views
Why is lsof on OS X so ridiculously slow?
I can't figure out why lsof on my Mac (10.8.2, MacBook Pro) is so slow.
On my Mac, lsof takes more than a minute:
$ touch /tmp/testfile
$ time lsof /tmp/testfile
real 1m16.483s
user 0m0.029s
...
9
votes
4answers
3k views
Changing a file or folder icon using the Terminal
How can I change or set the icon for a file or folder, in the terminal, do I need to use a scripting language?
9
votes
3answers
339 views
What is the “+” mark at the end of file description?
When I execute 'ls -al~', I see + marks, and it prevents me from moving/deleting files.
drwxr-xr-x+ 5 prosseek admin 170 Oct 5 03:43 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x+ 17 prosseek admin 578 Sep 25 ...
9
votes
2answers
239 views
why does OSX add extra '._<filename>' when I tar a directory?
I'd just like to know why if I "tar -czf" a file/directory, osx adds a: ._ for each file? I see these when I untar in linux. Or when I work with the uncompressed project in eclipse as it doesn't ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I force command-line arguments to a program shortcut in the dock?
I have Chrome installed in Applications, and a shortcut to it in the Dock.
How can I achieve to force some command-line arguments to each start-up of this app?
Let me be clearer, in the Terminal, I ...
8
votes
4answers
12k views
How do I start TextEditor from the command line?
I work a lot at the command line in a Terminal and would like to start a text editor on a certain file. I'm from Linux Land and normally use kwrite or gedit from a bash shell. Trying to find the Mac ...
8
votes
8answers
3k views
How to retrieve current wattage info on OS X?
Is there a way to retrieve the current watt usage info on OS X Snow Leopard? I'm using mid-2010 iMac, so I'm not looking for just battery-related apps.
Does OS X even monitor power usage? Do I need ...
8
votes
2answers
699 views
Can user accounts be managed via the command line?
Is there any way to add, remove, or modify user accounts via the command line? I'm not talking about an account for a system process or daemon, I mean is there any way to add a user account, change, ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
How do I speed up new Terminal tab loading time?
How can i speed up the terminal startup in Lion?
I'm not referring to the startup of the Terminal application, but to the startup terminal windows, like when i open a new tab.
I don't have anything ...
8
votes
3answers
301 views
Drag & Drop vs mv - Any difference?
Is there a difference between bulk-moving files with Drag & Drop vs mv?
Use case:
Volume External_Drive_A has about 8000 files totalling 9GB. External_Drive_B has 74GB of free space. The ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
Why does it appear that I apparently “do not have access to Command Line Tools” in ML?
I just upgraded to Mountain Lion, and now gcc, make, g++, etc. are not found when trying to launch them in Terminal.
So I went to Xcode Preferences, Downloads, and clicked "Install" next to Command ...
8
votes
3answers
487 views
Copying files to the clipboard using applescript
Often I find myself at the command line wanting to copy files to the clipboard, so that I can paste them as attachments in Mail. If I have an image file, image1.png, I can accomplish this with
...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Ubuntu-like bash completion in Mac OS X?
I work in the terminal a fair bit, and one thing I really miss from the servers I usually work on is the comprehensive autocompletion bash provides on Ubuntu servers.
Are there any readymade tools ...
7
votes
1answer
4k views
How to control Bluetooth wireless radio from the command line?
This question is almost the same as my previous question, but with one major difference; I want to turn on/off Bluetooth from the command line (bash or similar), NOT from AppleScript - the answers for ...
7
votes
1answer
259 views
How can I log into the desktop environment as Root on a new mac running 10.6 or 10.7 without creating a user account?
Under Mac OS 10.5, you could boot a fresh-out-of-the-box Mac into single user mode, mount /, set the root password, and touch .AppleSetupDone - this would allow you to log into the desktop environment ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the difference between .command, .tool, and .sh file extensions?
I saw a couple of questions about executing command line scripts? I saw that the .command and .tool extensions were mentioned. I have always used .sh. What is the difference between these different ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Can Finder and the “open” command treat files with .sh or other typical extensions just like .command files?
I am looking for a way to inject some more extensions into the OS X launch services database systematically so that when clicked, they execute in the terminal app just like .command files do by ...
7
votes
4answers
998 views
What's the best way to install command line utilities such as GIT?
I'm a Windows/Linux guy that just got my Macbook Air. I do web dev, and am currently trying to setup this machine for some on-the-go development.
After some research attempts, I'm wondering: what's ...
7
votes
2answers
709 views
AirDrop: How to access AirDrop from command line?
I was looking for an option to use Airdrop to sync a set of directories between two computers.
I want to achieve this wirelessly(hence chose Airdrop w/o having the computers connect on a network or ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
Home and end keys with Terminal on macbook pro?
I saw in other questions that home and end keys on a macbook pro can be emulated with fn + left arrow or fn + right arrow. Or sometimes with the apple key instead of fn. But none of that works in ...
6
votes
1answer
121 views
Adding a song file to iTunes via the command line without playing the file
I want to add song files to iTunes via the command line.
open -a iTunes -g song.mp3
does exactly this. - However it starts playing the song, too. Any way to avoid this?
6
votes
9answers
783 views
Lock Screen Command One-Liner
I'm trying to find out whether there is any kind of equivalent command line one-liner which replicates the exact identical functionality of the 'Lock Screen' menu option available via the Keychain app ...
6
votes
2answers
6k views
How to download command line tools in xcode 4.5
I just installed xcode 4.5 and need to install the command line tools. The apple documentations says (with very little detail) that there is a download section in the preferences pane. I have yet to ...
6
votes
2answers
347 views
How can I kill a process using top on OS X?
On other Unixe,s I can use top and then hit K and type the process ID.
How can I do that in OS X?
I can type kill [the_pid] on its own at the command line and that works. However, I was wondering if ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
How does 'stuck' (in results of 'top') relate to 'not responding' (in Activity Monitor), 'spin' or 'hang'?
In results of top commands, I sometimes see stuck.
Apple's top(1) OS X Manual Page does not explain this use of the word.
How, if it all, does stuck relate to the following?
not responding – ...
6
votes
1answer
200 views
Incorrect Terminal.app output for long lines with tabs
When I run the following command in Terminal.app:
echo -e "a\tb\tc\td\te\tf\tg\tyo"
I should get the following output (using a 40-column window so that lines don't wrap here, and replacing tabs ...
5
votes
6answers
1k views
Why use the terminal in daily non-programming life
Disclaimer: I'm a Windows boy awaiting his first mac. I never bothered learning/using command-line interfaces.
I've been looking at the Terminal Tips and Tricks topic and I don't see how any of those ...
5
votes
4answers
3k views
How do I take a steathy picture with my iSight camera from the command line?
Is there a command line utility that allows me to take a picture from the built in camera? Something like screencapture allows for, well, screen captures.
The reasoning for a command line tool is I ...
5
votes
2answers
4k views
How do I create a symbolic link to a directory with a space in it?
I was trying to create a symbolic link using the following command:
ln -s "~/Foo Bar/" Foo
... but it didn't work (i.e. when I go into finder and try double clicking it, it says that it's pointing ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
What command combo at terminal will output a list of directories with human-readable sizes?
I'd like to open Terminal.app and enter a command like:
my-macbook-pro:~ my-username$ ls -lh
Instead of seeing the size of the folders in bytes that are in my current working directory, I'd like to ...
5
votes
6answers
2k views
How to send an email from command line?
How to send an email from command line or script? I want to be able to run the script programmatically by passing the receiver and the message.
5
votes
2answers
294 views
“Airplane Mode” in OS X. Alternative command for `rfkill`?
This question is an exact duplicate of this post from
superuser.exchange.com. I believe this is a valid question for both of sites
and hope I am not (if any) violating stackexchange policies.
...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
How to control AirPort wireless radio from the command line?
I want to know how to control (specifically turn off) the networking (specifically AirPort - I want to turn off the radio) from the command line (specifically from bash in Terminal.app, being run by ...
5
votes
1answer
158 views
Completely clear all output from a Terminal window
I would like to clear all output from a Terminal window (including all historical output) to get it back to a clean state as if you had just opened a new Terminal window, or a new Terminal tab.
I can ...
5
votes
1answer
846 views
Why is a command line change to ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.LaunchServices.plist not effective immediately?
When the Info window of Finder is used to associate files of a particular type with an application:
the preference is effective immediately.
When Terminal is used to make a comparable addition ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
How do I change back from MacPorts Python to system default version?
I used MacPorts to install a newer version of Python on my system (10.5.8 PPC), and then used the MacPorts select command to change the default invoked version of Python to the MP version. Now I want ...
5
votes
1answer
141 views
How to pipe output of 'say' to another command
'say' has both -o and -n arguments for various ways to direct the output, but I don't see any way to simply pipe the output to another command (say, sox). Is this a limitation of say, or is there a ...
