> A curated list of shell commands and tools specific to OS X. > > _“You don’t have to know everything. You simply need to know where to find it when necessary.” (John Brunner)_ [](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome) If you want to contribute, you are highly encouraged to do so. Please read the [contribution guidelines](contributing.md). ## Table of Contents - [Appearance](#appearance) - [Transparency](#transparency) - [Wallpaper](#wallpaper) - [Applications](#applications) - [App Store](#app-store) - [Apple Remote Desktop](#apple-remote-desktop) - [Sketch](#sketch) - [Backup](#backup) - [Time Machine](#time-machine) - [Developer](#developer) - [Xcode](#xcode) - [Disks and Volumes](#disks-and-volumes) - [Documents](#documents) - [Finder](#finder) - [Fonts](#fonts) - [Hardware](#hardware) - [Hardware Information](#hardware-information) - [Input Devices](#input-devices) - [Keyboard](#keyboard) - [Media](#media) - [Audio](#audio) - [Networking](#networking) - [Bonjour](#bonjour) - [DHCP](#dhcp) - [DNS](#dns) - [Networking Tools](#networking-tools) - [Wi-Fi](#wi-fi) - [Package Managers](#package-managers) - [Printing](#printing) - [Security](#security) - [Gatekeeper](#gatekeeper) - [Wiping Data](#wiping-data) - [System](#system) - [Basics](#basics) - [Clipboard](#clipboard) - [FileVault](#filevault) - [Information/Reports](#information-reports) - [Memory Management](#memory-management) - [Notification Center](#notification-center) - [Root User](#root-user) - [Safe Mode Boot](#safe-mode-boot) - [Kernel Extensions](#kernel-extensions) ## Appearance ### Transparency #### Disable Transparency in Menu and Windows ```bash defaults write com.apple.universalaccess reduceTransparency -bool true ``` #### Enable Transparency in Menu and Windows ```bash defaults write com.apple.universalaccess reduceTransparency -bool false ``` ### Wallpaper #### Set wallpaper ```bash osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to set desktop picture to POSIX file "/path/to/picture.jpg"' ``` ## Applications ### App Store #### List All Apps Downloaded from App Store ```bash find /Applications -path '*Contents/_MASReceipt/receipt' -maxdepth 4 -print |\sed 's#.app/Contents/_MASReceipt/receipt#.app#g; s#/Applications/##' ``` ### Apple Remote Desktop #### Remove Apple Remote Desktop Settings ```bash sudo rm -rf /var/db/RemoteManagement sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist sudo rm -r /Library/Application\ Support/Apple/Remote\ Desktop/ rm -r ~/Library/Application\ Support/Remote\ Desktop/ rm -r ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.RemoteDesktop ``` ### Sketch #### Export Compact SVGs ```bash defaults write com.bohemiancoding.sketch3 exportCompactSVG -bool yes ``` ## Developer ### Xcode #### Install Command Line Tools Without Xcode ```bash xcode-select --install ``` ## Backup ### Time Machine #### Change Backup Interval This changes the interval to 30 minutes. The integer value is the time in seconds. ```bash sudo defaults write /System/Library/Launch Daemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 1800 ``` ## Disks and Volumes ### Repair file permissions ```bash sudo diskutil repairPermissions / ``` #### Disable Sudden Motion Sensor Leaving this turned on is useless when you're using SSDs. ```bash sudo pmset -a sms 0 ``` #### Eject All Mountable Volumes The only reliable way to do this is by sending an AppleScript command to Finder. ```bash osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to eject (every disk whose ejectable is true)' ``` #### Repair File Permissions You don't have to use the Disk Utility GUI for this. ```bash sudo diskutil repairPermissions / ``` ## Documents #### Convert File to HTML Supported formats are plain text, rich text (rtf) and Microsoft Word (doc/docx). ```bash textutil -convert html file.ext ``` ## Finder #### Hide folder in Finder ```bash chflags hidden /path/to/folder/ ``` #### Show All Hidden Files ```bash defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles true ``` #### Restore Default File Visibility ```bash defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles false ``` #### Unhide User Library folder ```bash chflags nohidden ~/Library ``` ## Fonts #### Clear Font Cache for Current User To clear font caches for all users, put `sudo` in front of this command. ```bash atsutil databases -removeUser && atsutil server -shutdown && atsutil server -ping ``` ## Hardware ### Disable sudden motion sensor (useless for SSDs) ```bash sudo pmset -a sms 0 ``` ### Hardware Information #### List All Hardware Ports ```bash networksetup -listallhardwareports ``` #### Show Current Screen Resolution ```bash system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType | grep Resolution ``` ### Power Management #### Show All Power Management Settings ```bash sudo pmset -g ``` #### Put Display to Sleep After 15 Minutes of Inactivity ```bash sudo pmset displaysleep 15 ``` #### Put Computer to Sleep After 30 Minutes of Inactivity ```bash sudo pmset sleep 30 ``` #### Check System Sleep Idle Time ```bash sudo systemsetup -getcomputersleep ``` #### Set System Sleep Idle Time to 60 Minutes ```bash sudo systemsetup -setcomputersleep 60 ``` #### Turn Off System Sleep Completely ```bash sudo systemsetup -setcomputersleep Never ``` ## Input Devices ### Keyboard #### Disable Auto-Correct ```bash defaults write -g NSAutomaticSpellingCorrectionEnabled -bool false ``` #### Enable Auto-Correct ```bash defaults write -g NSAutomaticSpellingCorrectionEnabled -bool true ``` #### Show Auto-Correct Setting ```bash defaults read -g NSAutomaticSpellingCorrectionEnabled ``` ## Media ### Audio #### Convert Audio File to iPhone Ringtone ```bash afconvert input.mp3 ringtone.m4r -f m4af ``` ## Networking ### Bonjour #### Disable Bonjour ```bash defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder ProgramArguments -array "/usr/sbin/mDNSResponder" "-launchd" ``` #### Enable Bonjour ```bash defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder ProgramArguments -array-add "-NoMulticastAdvertisements" ``` ### DHCP #### Renew DHCP Lease ```bash sudo ipconfig set en0 DHCP ``` #### Show DHCP Info ```bash ipconfig getpacket en0 ``` ### DNS #### Clear DNS Cache ```bash sudo dscachutil -flushcache && sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder ``` ### Networking Tools #### Ping a Host to See Whether It’s Available ```bash ping -o github.com ``` #### Troubleshoot Routing Problems ```bash traceroute github.com ``` ### Wi-Fi #### Show Wi-Fi Connection History ```bash defaults read /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences | grep LastConnected -A 7 ``` #### Show Wi-Fi Network Passwords ```bash security find-generic-password -ga "ROUTERNAME" | grep "password:" ``` ## Package Managers - [Fink](http://www.finkproject.org) - The full world of Unix Open Source software for Darwin. - [Homebrew](http://brew.sh) - The missing package manager for OS X. - [MacPorts](https://www.macports.org) - Compile, install and upgrade either command-line, X11 or Aqua based open-source software. ## Printing #### Clear Print Queue ```bash cancel -a - ``` ## Security ### Gatekeeper #### Add Gatekeeper Exception ```bash spctl --add /path/to/Application.app ``` #### Remove Gatekeeper Exception ```bash spctl --remove /path/to/Application.app ``` ### Wiping Data #### Securely Remove File ```bash srm /path/to/file ``` #### Securely Remove Directory ```bash srm -r /path/to/directory/ ``` #### Securely Remove Path (Force) ```bash srm -rf /path/to/complete/destruction ``` ## System ### Basics #### Restart ```bash sudo reboot ``` #### Shutdown ```bash sudo poweroff ``` #### Show Build Number of OS ```bash sw_vers ``` ### Clipboard #### Copy data to Clipboard ```bash cat whatever.txt | pbcopy ``` #### Convert Tabs to Spaces for Clipboard Content ```bash pbpaste | expand | pbcopy ``` #### Copy data from Clipboard ```bash pbpaste > whatever.txt ``` #### Sort and Strip Duplicate Lines from Clipboard Content ```bash pbpaste | sort | uniq | pbcopy ``` ### FileVault #### Check FileVault Status ```bash sudo fdesetup status ``` ### Information/Reports #### Generate Advanced System and Performance Report ```bash sudo sysdiagnose -f ~/Desktop/ ``` ### Memory #### Purge memory cache ```bash sudo purge ``` ### Notification Center #### Disable Notification Center ```bash launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.notificationcenterui.plist && killall -9 NotificationCenter ``` #### Enable Notification Center ```bash launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.notificationcenterui.plist ``` ### Root User #### Enable Root User ```bash dsenableroot ``` #### Disable Root User ```bash dsenableroot -d ``` ### Safe Mode Boot #### Check Safe Mode Setting ```bash nvram boot-args ``` #### Enable Safe Mode ```bash sudo nvram boot-args="-x" ``` #### Disable Safe Mode ```bash sudo nvram boot-args="" ``` ### Kernel Extensions #### Load Kernel Extension ```bash sudo kextload -b com.apple.driver.ExampleBundle ``` #### Unload Kernel Extensions ```bash sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.ExampleBundle ``` ## License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.