Terminal (Mac) - Quick Reference


This is a brief reference of commands in the Terminal application, which can be found on a Mac in Launchpad. A more thorough guide to Terminal commands (based on UNIX, which underlies the Mac operating system) is available at unbuntu.com.


Directory Navigation


The following commands can be typed into the Terminal window with the following results:

Command Result Words the Command Abbreviates
pwd prints the path from the root (e.g., /Users/name) print working directory
cd by itself, cd takes you to the default working directory change directory
cd / takes you to the root directory
cd .. takes you up one directory level
cd ../.. takes you up two directory levels
cd directory_name moves you into the named directory (inside the working directory
ls lists subdirectories in the current working directory list [directories]
ls -lha lists hidden items in the current working directory list hidden (items)

Here is what a Terminal window looks like when several of the simple commands above are used:

Manipulate the Text of Commands in Terminal


The following commands can be typed into the Terminal window with the following results:

Command Result
ctrl + p copies the previous command
ctrl + r allows you to copy part< of the previous command

You can also just scroll through previous commands by using the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard.



Open and Edit Files


The following command opens files in Terminal for editing:

Command Result
nano ~/.file_name Opens the file (e.g., "nano ~/.zshrc" opens the Terminal configuration file.)

Other editing commands are shown at the bottom of the nano editing window.



Directory and File Movement


The following commands can be typed into the Terminal window with the following results:

Command Result
mkdir new_directory_name Creates a new directory.
cp -R ~/directory_path/file_or_directory_name /new path/file_or_directory_name Copies a directory or file to the specified location. The "-R" option causes the contents of a folder to get copied. There's no need to use that option when copying a file.