lixlpixel php code snippets | apple stuff


MacOS X UNIX Terminal Commands

 

 note: all commands are case sensitive!

 

 list information on a command ('man' is short for 'manual')

 man command

 

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 full directory listing [including hidden files]

 ls -alF

 

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 same as above, but for large directories

 ls -alF | more

 

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 when you use the -l flag w/ ls, there will be a string of characters on the left for each file, which may look something like -rwxr-xr-x

 the first character describes what the item is:

 - = regular file

 d = directory

 b = special block file

 c = special character file

 l = symbolic link

 p = named pipe special file

 example: lrwxr-xr-x would be a symbolic link

 

 the next 9 characters are 3 groups of 3 characters each, which tell the read/write/execute permissions for user, group, and other respectively:

 r = read

 w = write

 x = execute

 using the above example of lrwxr-xr-x, you would have symbolic link file, where the user can read, write and execute (rwx), and the group and others can read and execute (r-x)

 

 change the permissions for a file

 chmod flags filename

 description of flags:

 u = user

 g = group

 o = other

 a = all of the above

 example: 

 chmod u=rwx,go=rx filename

 this would make the file readable, writable, and executable by the owner (u), and readable/writable by everybody else (go)

 

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 wildcard for any # of characters

 *

 

 wildcard for a single character

 ?

 

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 current directory

 .

 

 parent directory

 ..

 

 home directory

 ~

 

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 list command history

 history

 

 re-run previously typed command (number can be found in history list)

 !number

 

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 run a program in the background

 program &

 

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 clear the screen in the terminal

 clear

 

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 see what directory you are currently in

 pwd

 

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 information on available disk space for all mounted volumes

 df -k

 

 summarize disk usage (list all files) from current directory on down

 du

 

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 list of commands to control apache (web server)

 apachectl man

 

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 list of running processes

 ps aux | more

 

  kill running process (PID=# from the ps -aux | more list)

  kill PID

 

  list heap allocation for process

  heap PID

 

  put a program in the background

  bg PID

 

  bring a program to the foreground

  fg PID 

 

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 list commands to use w/ Java

 java -help

 

 list commands to use w/ Java compiler

 javac -help

 

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 change aqua windows to nextstep & vice versa

 defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSInterfaceStyle nextstep

 defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSInterfaceStyle aqua

 

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 change the arrow for the foreground app in the dock from black to blue

 defaults write com.apple.dock showforeground -boolean YES

 

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 dim (make translucent) the icons of hidden apps in the dock

 defaults write com.apple.dock showhidden -boolean YES

 

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 list of commands to use w/ gnutar

 gnutar -help | more

 

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 change the owner of a file

 chown newowner fileordirectory

 

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 rename a file

 mv filename newfilename

 

 move a file

 mv sourcefile destination/

 

 copy a file

 cp sourcefile destination/

 

 delete a file

 rm

 

 delete a file w/o asking for verification

 rm -f

 

 delete a directory, and all the files in it

 rm -r

 or

 rmdir

 

 create a directory

 mkdir

 

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 diplay the first few lines of a file (default=10 lines)

 head filename

 

 display the last few lines of a file (default=10 lines)

 tail filename

 

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 break (kill almost any running program or process)

 control c

 

 pause screen output

 control s

 

 resume screen output

 control q

 

 erase entire line that was just typed

 control u

 

 suspend running process

 control z

 

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 gnu zip a file [zipped file will end w/ .gz]

 gzip filename

 

 gnu unzip a file

 gunzip filename

 

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 display a calendar

 cal

 

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 list information on a server

 whois servername.com

 

 list information on current user

 whoami