Mac Terminal Commands Cheat Sheet | Quick Reference Guide

Print working directory. Shows your current location.

pwd

/Users/yourname/Documents

List files and folders in the current directory.

Flags & Options

-a Show hidden files (files starting with a dot)

-l Long format with details (permissions, size, date)

-la Combine both: hidden files with details

-h Human-readable file sizes (use with -l)

Change directory. Move to a different folder.

cd Documents

Flags & Options

~ Go to your home folder

.. Go up one folder

- Go back to previous folder

/ Go to root directory

Display the entire contents of a file.

cat readme.txt

Display the first 10 lines of a file.

head logfile.txt

Flags & Options

-n 20 Show first 20 lines (or any number)

Display the last 10 lines of a file.

tail logfile.txt

Flags & Options

-n 20 Show last 20 lines (or any number)

-f Follow: watch file for new lines in real-time

View a file with scrolling. Press q to exit.

less longfile.txt

Flags & Options

Space Page down

b Page up

/ Search forward

q Quit

Make a new directory (folder).

mkdir NewFolder

Flags & Options

-p Create parent directories as needed

Create an empty file or update a file's timestamp.

touch newfile.txt

Copy a file or folder.

cp file.txt backup.txt

Flags & Options

-r Recursive: copy folders and their contents

-i Interactive: ask before overwriting

Move or rename a file or folder.

mv oldname.txt newname.txt

Flags & Options

-i Interactive: ask before overwriting

Remove (delete) a file. No trash, permanent deletion.

rm unwanted.txt

Flags & Options

-r Recursive: delete folders and their contents

-f Force: don't ask for confirmation

-i Interactive: ask before each deletion

Deleted files cannot be recovered. Use with caution.

Show the manual page for any command.

man ls

Open a file or folder with the default app.

open document.pdf

Flags & Options

-a AppName Open with a specific app

-e Open with TextEdit

. Open current folder in Finder

Search for files by name, size, date, or other criteria.

find ~/Documents -name "*.pdf"

Flags & Options

-name "pattern" Search by filename (use * as wildcard)

-size +100M Files larger than 100 megabytes

-size -1M Files smaller than 1 megabyte

-type f Files only

-type d Directories only

-delete Delete matching files (use carefully)

Search for text within files.

grep "error" logfile.txt

Flags & Options

-i Case-insensitive search

-r Recursive: search in all subdirectories

-n Show line numbers

-l Only show filenames with matches

Copy input to the macOS clipboard.

pwd | pbcopy

Paste the contents of the macOS clipboard.

pbpaste > file.txt

Send output from one command to another.

ls | grep ".txt"

Redirect output to a file (overwrites existing content).

ls > filelist.txt

This will overwrite the file without asking.

Append output to a file (adds to existing content).

date >> log.txt

Print text or variable values to the screen.

echo "Hello, $USER"

Show your command history.

history

Clear the Terminal screen.

clear

Show disk space usage for all drives.

df -h

Flags & Options

-h Human-readable sizes (GB, MB instead of bytes)

Show disk usage for files and folders.

du -sh *

Flags & Options

-s Summary (total for each argument)

-h Human-readable sizes

-d 1 Depth: only show 1 level deep

Show macOS version information.

sw_vers

Show network configuration.

ipconfig getifaddr en0

Flags & Options

getifaddr en0 Get IP address for primary network

Show the current date and time.

date

Resize and convert images.

sips --resampleWidth 1200 *.jpg

Flags & Options

--resampleWidth N Resize to N pixels wide (keeps aspect ratio)

--resampleHeight N Resize to N pixels tall (keeps aspect ratio)

-s format jpeg Convert to JPEG format

-s format png Convert to PNG format

Create a compressed zip archive.

zip -r archive.zip folder/

Flags & Options

-r Recursive: include all files in subfolders

Extract a zip archive.

unzip archive.zip

Flags & Options

-d folder Extract to a specific folder

Download files from URLs.

curl -O https://example.com/file.pdf

Flags & Options

-O Save with original filename from URL

-o filename Save with a custom filename

-L Follow redirects

Change file permissions.

chmod +x script.sh

Flags & Options

+x Add execute permission (make runnable)

-x Remove execute permission

755 Owner can read/write/execute, others can read/execute

644 Owner can read/write, others can only read

Run a command as administrator.

sudo rm protected-file.txt

Be careful. Sudo bypasses safety restrictions.

Create a shortcut for a command.

alias ll="ls -la"

Reload a configuration file.

source ~/.zshrc

Set an environment variable.

export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"

Keyboard Shortcuts

Line Editing

Ctrl + A

Jump to beginning of line

Ctrl + E

Jump to end of line

Ctrl + U

Delete entire line

Ctrl + K

Delete from cursor to end of line

Ctrl + W

Delete word before cursor

Option + Delete

Delete word before cursor

Ctrl + Y

Paste deleted text back

Command History

Up Arrow

Previous command

Down Arrow

Next command

Ctrl + R

Search command history

Ctrl + G

Cancel history search

Terminal Control

Tab

Autocomplete file/folder names

Ctrl + C

Cancel current command

Ctrl + L

Clear screen (same as clear)

Cmd + K

Clear screen and scrollback

Ctrl + D

Exit Terminal (if line is empty)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I open Terminal on Mac?

Press Cmd + Space to open Spotlight, type "Terminal", and press Enter. Or find it in Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

What is the Terminal command to see my current folder?

Use the pwd command (print working directory). It shows the full path of your current location.

How do I list all files including hidden files on Mac Terminal?

Use ls -a to show hidden files, or ls -la to show hidden files with details like size and date.

How do I delete a folder in Mac Terminal?

Use rm -r foldername to delete a folder and all its contents. Warning: this is permanent and cannot be undone.

How do I copy a file in Terminal?

Use cp source destination. For example: cp file.txt backup.txt. For folders, add -r: cp -r folder/ backup/

What does sudo mean in Terminal?

Sudo means "superuser do". It runs a command with administrator privileges, bypassing normal restrictions. Use carefully.

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