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9.1 S2.9-Mac-terminal-cheatsheet

This document is a comprehensive cheatsheet for using the Mac terminal, covering essential commands for changing directories, listing directory contents, managing files and directories, copying, and removing files. It includes various command options and their descriptions to facilitate efficient terminal usage. The document serves as a quick reference for users looking to enhance their command line skills on macOS.

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7 views

9.1 S2.9-Mac-terminal-cheatsheet

This document is a comprehensive cheatsheet for using the Mac terminal, covering essential commands for changing directories, listing directory contents, managing files and directories, copying, and removing files. It includes various command options and their descriptions to facilitate efficient terminal usage. The document serves as a quick reference for users looking to enhance their command line skills on macOS.

Uploaded by

fakeappauth
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Mac-terminal-cheatsheet.

md 1/17/2022

Mac terminal cheatsheet


Change Directory
cd Home directory
cd [folder] Change directory, e.g. cd Documents
cd ~ Home directory
cd/ Root of the drive
cd – Previous directory or folder you last browsed
pwd Show your working directory
cd.. Move up to the parent directory

cd../.. Move up two levels

List Directory Contents


ls Display the name of files and subdirectories in the directory
ls -C Force multi-column output of the listing
ls -a List all entries including those with .(period) and ..(double
period)
ls -1 Output the list of files in one entry per line format
ls -F Display a / (slash) immediately after each path that is a directory,
\* (asterisk) after executable programs or scripts, and @ after a symbolic
link
ls -S Sort files or entries by size
ls -l List in a long format. Includes file mode, owner and group name,
date and time file was modified, pathname, and more
ls -lt List the files sorted by time modified (most recent first)
ls -lh Long listing with human readable file sizes in KB, MB, or GB
ls -lo List the file names with size, owner, and flags
ls -la List detailed directory contents, including hidden files

File Size and Disk Space


du List usage for each subdirectory and its contents
du -sh [folder] Human readable output of all files in a directory
du -s Display an entry for each specified file
du -sk* | sort -nr List files and folders, totaling the size including the
subfolders. Replace sk* with sm\* to list directories in MB
df -h Calculate your system’s free disk space
df -H Calculate free disk space in powers of 1,000 (as opposed to 1,024)

File and Directory Management


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Mac-terminal-cheatsheet.md 1/17/2022

mkdir <dir> Create new folder named <dir>


mkdir -p <dir>/<dir> Create nested folders
mkdir <dir1> <dir2> <dir3> Create several folders at once
mkdir “<dir>” Create a folder with a space in the filename
rmdir <dir> Delete a folder (only works on empty folders)
rm -R <dir> Delete a folder and its contents
touch <file> Create a new file without any extension

Copy
cp <file> <newfile> Copy a file to the current folder
cp <file>~/<dir>/<newfile> Copy a file to the folder and rename the
copied file
cp -R <dir> <“new dir”> Copy a folder to a new folder with spaces in the
filename
cp -i <file><dir> Prompts you before copying a file with a warning
overwrite message
cp <file1> <file2> <file3>/Users/<dir> Copy multiple files to a folder```

Remove
rm <file> Delete a file (This deletes the file permanently; use with
caution.)
rm -i <file> Delete a file only when you give confirmation
rm -f <file> Force removal without confirmation
rm <file1> <file2> <file3> Delete multiple files without any confirmation
mv <file> <newfilename> Move/rename
mv <file> <dir> Move a file to the folder, possibly by overwriting an
existing file
mv -i <file> <dir> Optional -i flag to warn you before overwriting the
file

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