Terminal Basics for macOS: Essential Commands for Everyday Productivity

Last login: Mon Apr 28 14:30:15 on ttys000
username@MacBook-Pro ~ %

# Show current directory
pwd

# List files in current directory
ls

# List with details (permissions, size, date)
ls -la

# Clear screen
cls

# Create directory
mkdir MyFolder

# Create directory and subdirectories
mkdir -p Projects/2026/April

# Create empty file
touch notes.txt

# Create multiple files
touch file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

# Copy file
cp document.txt backup.txt

# Copy directory (recursive)
cp -r MyFolder MyFolderBackup

# Copy with confirmation
cp -i document.txt backup.txt

# Move file to another folder
mv document.txt Documents/

# Rename file
mv oldname.txt newname.txt

# Move and rename at once
mv document.txt Documents/backup.txt

# Delete file
rm file.txt

# Delete directory (and contents)
rm -r MyFolder

# Delete with confirmation
rm -i file.txt

# Force delete (no confirmation) — USE WITH EXTREME CAUTION
rm -f file.txt

# Display file contents
cat document.txt

# Display with line numbers
cat -n document.txt

# Display first 10 lines
head document.txt

# Display last 10 lines
tail document.txt

# Display last 20 lines
tail -n 20 document.txt

# Interactive viewer (scrollable)
less document.txt
# Press 'q' to quit less

# Find by name
find . -name "*.txt"

# Find by name (case insensitive)
find . -iname "*.jpg"

# Find in specific directory
find ~/Documents -name "report*"

# Find and execute command on results
find . -name "*.log" -delete

# Find files modified in last 24 hours
find . -mtime -1

# Search for text in files
grep "search term" file.txt

# Search in multiple files
grep "function" *.js

# Case insensitive search
grep -i "macbook" notes.txt

# Search recursively in directories
grep -r "TODO" Projects/

# Show line numbers
grep -n "error" log.txt

# Search and count occurrences
grep -c "word" document.txt

# Find files and search within them
find . -name "*.md" -exec grep -l "Terminal" {} \;

# Search and replace across files
sed -i '' 's/old/new/g' file.txt

# Disk usage summary
df -h

# Folder size
du -sh Documents

# Detailed folder contents with sizes
du -h --max-depth=1 Documents

# Memory usage
vm_stat

# Top processes (similar to Activity Monitor)
top
# Press 'q' to quit

# Filtered process list
ps aux | grep Safari

# macOS version
sw_vers

# Hardware overview
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType

# Battery information (laptops)
pmset -g batt

# Uptime (how long Mac has been running)
uptime

# Open configuration file
nano ~/.zshrc

# Navigation aliases
alias ..='cd ..'
alias ...='cd ../..'
alias docs='cd ~/Documents'
alias dl='cd ~/Downloads'

# List aliases
alias ll='ls -la'
alias lt='ls -lt'  # Sort by time

# Safety aliases
alias rm='rm -i'  # Always confirm before delete
alias cp='cp -i'  # Confirm before overwrite

# Quick edits
alias zshconfig='nano ~/.zshrc'

source ~/.zshrc

# Edit .zshrc
nano ~/.zshrc

# Minimal prompt
PROMPT='%F{green}%~%f $ '

# Or detailed prompt
PROMPT='%F{cyan}%n%f@%F{magenta}%m%f:%F{green}%~%f$ '

# Install Homebrew (one-time)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Search for packages
brew search wget

# Install a package
brew install wget

# Update all packages
brew update && brew upgrade

xcode-select --install

# Add prefix to all PNG files
for file in *.png; do mv "$file" "screenshot_$file"; done

# Remove "copy" from filenames
for file in *copy*; do mv "$file" "${file/copy /}"; done

# Install first: brew install imagemagick

# Resize all JPGs in folder to 50%
for img in *.jpg; do convert "$img" -resize 50% "small_$img"; done

# Find files over 100MB
du -h | grep '^[0-9]*M' | sort -rn

# Or specifically over 100MB
find . -size +100M -ls

# Create entire project structure
mkdir -p Project/{src,docs,tests,assets/{images,fonts}}

# Creates:
# Project/
# ├── src/
# ├── docs/
# ├── tests/
# └── assets/
#     ├── images/
#     └── fonts/

# DELETES EVERYTHING - NEVER RUN THIS
rm -rf /

# DELETES HOME FOLDER - NEVER RUN THIS
rm -rf ~

# Overwrites without confirmation
> file.txt  # Empties the file

rm -iv file.txt  # Will ask before deleting and show what's happening