macOS Specific Terminal Commands

Apple’s macOS operating system, built on a Unix foundation, offers a rich set of command-line utilities. While many commands are shared with other Unix-based systems, macOS brings its unique set of tools tailored for its environment. This article focuses on some macOS-specific terminal commands.

Table of Contents:

• System Information Commands
• File Management and Spotlight
• Disk Utility Commands
• Network Utility Commands
• Software Management
• User and Group Management
• Conclusion

The power of macOS’s Unix foundation shines when delving into Terminal commands. Let’s uncover more macOS-specific commands to assist with various tasks.

System Information Commands

• sw_vers: Display macOS version details.
• system_profiler: Detailed report about hardware and software.
• hostinfo: Summary of system configuration.

File Management and Spotlight

• mdfind: Search using the Spotlight index.
• mdls: List metadata attributes for a file.
• SetFile and GetFileInfo: Change and view file attributes.

  • View file info:

    GetFileInfo /path/to/file
    

  • Hide a file in Finder:

    SetFile -a V /path/to/file
    

Disk Utility Commands

• diskutil: Manage disks and volumes.
• hdiutil: Work with disk images (ISO, DMG).

  • Mount a disk image:

    hdiutil mount /path/to/diskimage.dmg
    

Network Utility Commands

• networksetup: Configure network settings.
• airport: Interface with Wi-Fi settings.

  • View Wi-Fi network details:

    /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/airport -I
    

Software Management

• softwareupdate: Interface with software update mechanism.
• pkgutil: Manage package receipts.
• mas: Command-line interface for the Mac App Store.

  • Search for an app:

    mas search "app name"
    

User and Group Management

• dscl: Directory Service command-line utility.

  • List all users:

    dscl . -list /Users
    

  • Create a new user:

    sudo dscl . -create /Users/username
    

• sysadminctl: Administer sysadmin accounts.

  • Add a new user:

    sudo sysadminctl -addUser username -password userpassword -admin
    

• dscacheutil: Cache lookup tool.

  • Flush DNS cache:

    sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
    

Conclusion

macOS is packed with versatile terminal commands, streamlining system administration and troubleshooting tasks. Delve into each command’s manual with man commandname for deeper insights.