Guide to Command-Line Tools on macOS

Introduction

Understanding macOS terminal commands can greatly enhance your efficiency and control over your system. From managing clipboard contents and opening applications to configuring system settings and handling file attributes, these commands offer powerful solutions to everyday tasks. By incorporating these techniques into your workflow, you can streamline operations, automate processes with osascript, and fully leverage the capabilities of your macOS environment. Keep experimenting and exploring to unlock even more potential from your terminal commands.

In this article we will focus on the macOS specific command line tools, for generic unix/linux commands you can check other articles:

TL;DR

You can find a shorter cheat sheet version of this article here.

Open Table of contents

Basic Commands
- Clipboard Management
- Checking Application Entitlements
Opening Applications and Files
- Opening Web Pages
- Additional Arguments
Finder
Extended File Attributes
Spotlight
- Disabling/Enabling Spotlight
Computer Name Management
- Changing Computer Name
AppleScript (osascript)
- Volume Control
Text-to-Speech with say
Disk Management
- FileVault
- Encrypted DMG Volumes
Building Packages with pkgbuild
- Options:
Universal Binary Files
Property List Utility (plutil)
- Reading Plist Files
  - Common Plist Examples:
- Creating Plist Files
Conclusion

Basic Commands

Clipboard Management

Managing the clipboard from the terminal can be incredibly useful for quickly copying and pasting text, command outputs, or even entire files. Here are some handy clipboard commands:

Copy Text to Clipboard:
```
echo "text to copy" | pbcopy
```
This command sends the specified text directly to the clipboard.
Copy Command Output to Clipboard:
```
whoami | pbcopy
```
The output of the whoami command is copied to the clipboard.
Copy File Contents to Clipboard:
```
pbcopy < ~/path/to/file
```
This command copies the contents of a file to the clipboard.
Paste from Clipboard:
```
pbpaste
```
Displays the contents of the clipboard in the terminal.
Save Clipboard Contents to a File:
```
pbpaste > file-name.txt
```
This saves the clipboard’s contents to a specified file.
Execute Clipboard Contents:
```
pbpaste | zsh
```
Executes the clipboard contents in the zsh shell.
Sort and Remove Duplicate Lines from Clipboard Content:
```
pbpaste | sort -u | pbcopy
```
This command sorts the clipboard content and removes duplicate lines before copying it back to the clipboard.

Checking Application Entitlements

To check the entitlements of an application, which are permissions granted to it by macOS, use the following command:

Check Application Entitlements:

codesign -d -vv --entitlements - /Applications/Your-Application.app

Opening Applications and Files

The open command is a tool to open applications, files, or URLs directly from the terminal. Here are various ways to use it:

Open an Application:
```
open -a Notes
```
This command opens the Notes application.
Open a New Instance of an Application:
```
open -n -a Notes
```
Opens a new instance of the Notes app, even if it’s already running.
Open a Fresh Instance Without Restoring State:
```
open -F -n -a Safari
```
Opens Safari in a fresh instance without restoring the previous state.
Open a File in TextEdit:
```
open -e file.txt
```
Opens file.txt in TextEdit.
Open Finder in Current Directory:
```
open .
```
Opens Finder in the current working directory.
Reveal a File in Finder:
```
open -R test.txt
```
Reveals test.txt in Finder instead of opening it.
Open Application Hidden:
```
open -a TextEdit -j
```
Opens TextEdit hidden.
Open Application Without Bringing to Foreground:
```
open -a TextEdit -g
```
Opens TextEdit without bringing it to the foreground.
Open URL with Default Application:
```
open -u smb://127.0.0.1
```
Opens the URL with the default application.
Write Command Output to Temp File and Open in Default Text Editor:
```
ls / | open -f
```

Opening Web Pages

You can also open web pages directly from the terminal:

Open Web Page in Default Browser:
```
open https://example.com
```
Open Web Page in Safari:
```
open -a Safari https://example.com
```

Open Local HTML File in Safari:

open -a Safari file:///Users/user/Downloads/test.html

Additional Arguments

The open command supports additional arguments to customize its behavior:

--args - Pass remaining arguments to the opened application.
--env VAR - Add the variable to the application’s environment.
--stdin PATH - Open app with stdin set to PATH.
--stdout PATH - Open app with stdout set to PATH.
--stderr PATH - Open app with stderr set to PATH.

Finder

You can control Finder’s behavior using defaults commands:

Show All Files in Finder:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder

Hide Desktop Icons:

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false
killall Finder

Extended File Attributes

Extended attributes provide additional metadata about files. You can manage these using the xattr command:

List File Attributes:
```
xattr -l /path/to/file
```
List File Attributes Recursively:
```
xattr -lr .
```

Remove Quarantine from File:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/file

Remove Download Location Metadata:

xattr -d com.apple.metadata:kMDItemWhereFroms /path/to/file

Remove All Attributes:
```
xattr -c /path/to/file
```

Spotlight

Spotlight search can be leveraged from the terminal using mdfind:

Search for PDFs:
```
mdfind -name .pdf
```
Limit Search to Specific Directory:
```
mdfind -onlyin ~/Documents -name .pdf
```
Search for Images in Specific Directory:
```
mdfind image -onlyin ~/Documents
```
Print Total Number of Matches:
```
mdfind .pdf -onlyin ~/Documents -count
```

Disabling/Enabling Spotlight

You can control Spotlight indexing with mdutil:

Disable Indexing:
```
mdutil -i off /
```
Enable Indexing:
```
mdutil -i on /
```
Erase Spotlight Index:
```
mdutil -E /
```

Computer Name Management

You can get and set various computer names using scutil:

Get Host Name:
```
scutil --get HostName
```
Get Local Host Name:
```
scutil --get LocalHostName
```
Get Computer Name:
```
scutil --get ComputerName
```

Changing Computer Name

Set Host Name:

sudo scutil --set HostName new-host.name.com

Set Local Host Name:

sudo scutil --set LocalHostName new-host

Set Computer Name:
```
sudo scutil --set ComputerName new-host
```

AppleScript (osascript)

Use osascript to execute AppleScript or JavaScript from the terminal:

Execute AppleScript:

echo 'do shell script "whoami"' | osascript

Execute JavaScript Code:
```
echo '...' | osascript -l JavaScript
```
Compile Script to .app File:
```
osacompile -o test.app script.txt
```

Compile JavaScript Code:

osacompile -l JavaScript -o test.app -s test.js

Display Notification:

osascript -e 'display notification "Hello world" with title "Hello"'

Beep:
```
osascript -e 'beep'
```
Multiple Beeps:
```
osascript -e 'beep 5'
```

Volume Control

Control the system volume using osascript:

Change Volume:

osascript -e "set volume output volume 50"

Mute:

osascript -e 'set volume output muted true'

Unmute:

osascript -e 'set volume output muted false'

Text-to-Speech with `say`

Convert text to speech using the say command:

Say Text with Default Voice:
```
say 'hello world'
```
Specify Voice:
```
say -v Wobble 'hello'
```
Pass Text to say:
```
echo 'hello' | say
```
Read Text from Input File:
```
say -f input.txt
```
Run say in Interactive Mode:
```
say -i
```

Disk Management

FileVault

Manage FileVault encryption status and users:

FileVault Status:
```
fdesetup status
```
List FileVault Enabled Accounts:
```
fdesetup list
```
Remove User from FileVault:
```
fdesetup remove -user USERNAME
```

Encrypted DMG Volumes

Mount Encrypted DMG:
```
hdiutil attach file_name.dmg
```

Create Encrypted Volume:

hdiutil create -encryption AES-256 -fs HFS+ -size 1g encrypted.dmg

Building Packages with `pkgbuild`

Create installer packages with pkgbuild:

Build .pkg with Pre/Post Install Scripts:

pkgbuild --identifier com.example --nopayload --scripts ./example-package/scripts ./simple.pkg

Options:

--auth - Values: root or none
--install-location - Installation location
--info PackageInfo - Use PackageInfo file

Universal Binary Files

Manage universal (fat) binaries with lipo:

Get Information About Binary File:
```
lipo -info fileName
```
Detailed Information:
```
lipo -detailed_info fileName
```
List Binary Architectures:
```
lipo -archs fileName
```

Create Fat Binary for Multiple Architectures:

lipo -create fileName-arm.bin fileName-amd64.bin -output fileName

Extract Architecture to Separate File:

lipo -extract arm64 fileName -output fileName.arm64

Remove Architecture from Universal File:

lipo -remove arm64 fileName -output fileName2

Create Thin Output File:

lipo -thin arm64 fileName -output fileName.arm64

Property List Utility (`plutil`)

Manage property list files with plutil:

Reading Plist Files

Read Plist in Human-Readable Form:
```
plutil -p /path/to/file.plist
```

Convert Plist to XML and Display:

plutil -convert xml1 -o - /path/to/file.plist

Common Plist Examples:

List Dock Apps:

plutil -p ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist

List Recently Accessed Files:

plutil -p ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Display macOS Version Information:

plutil -p /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist

Creating Plist Files

Create Empty Plist in XML Format:
```
plutil -create xml1 file.plist
```
Check Plist Syntax:
```
plutil -lint file.plist
```

Conclusion

Mastering these macOS terminal commands can significantly boost your productivity and streamline your workflow. Whether you’re manipulating clipboard contents, opening applications and files, managing Finder settings, or utilizing Spotlight for advanced searches, these commands offer powerful and efficient ways to interact with your system. By incorporating these techniques into your daily routine, you can enhance your ability to perform a variety of tasks more quickly and effectively. Explore these commands and discover how they can simplify your macOS experience.