ITerm2, Terminal.app, and ZOC are probably your best bets out of the 12 options considered. 'Extremely customizable' is the primary reason people pick iTerm2 over the competition. This page is powered by a knowledgeable community that helps you make an informed decision. In no particular order, here are some of the top Homebrew packages for Mac: cask. Cask allows you to easy install Mac OS GUI apps and binaries directly from the command line using Homebrew. First you install cask, and then you can install normal Mac apps directly from the command line. Brew install cask.
Apple's macOS platform includes Terminal, which is equivalent to Command Prompt in Windows OS. Since the macOS is based on UNIX, Terminal might give you a vibe of a dangerous tool where one wrong command can wreck your system. Sure, it is valid only to an extent. There are a bunch of harmless commands that are usable in customizing the interface and other settings of macOS.
The Terminal on macOS can be extremely useful in tweaking the performance of your Mac. Now it entirely depends on what you want to achieve. In case you have been dreading to use it, you can always get comfortable by using simpler tricks. Here are the top 11 terminal command tricks to try on your Mac.
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Read MoreNote: While selecting/copying a command, make sure you scroll all the way towards right to select the complete command in the gray box. Otherwise partial commands will not work as intended.1. Open Folders
One of the coolest ways to get familiar with the Terminal is to use it to open files and folders. I know that clicking on Finder will do the same. However, using Terminal, you can open a specific folder or a file without exposing your file structure to anyone.
Let's say you want to open your Documents folder. Then you can type the following command and then hit Enter.
And that opens my Documents folder. There's a DOCX file in there. I can use Terminal to open that too. For that, you need to type out the command with some requirements — the path of the respective file:
Open -a 'Application Name' /Path/to/File
So for opening the DOCX file in the Documents folder of my Mac, I typed in the command below and then hit Enter:
That opens up the specific file using the predefined program. You can also use the wildcard character (*.extension) instead of the full filename. However, if you have more than one file in carrying the same extension, then it might freeze your Mac for a bit.
2. Change Default Save Screenshot Location
By default, the macOS Mojave stores the screenshots on the Mac's desktop. Now if you have iCloud sync enabled, which I am sure you do, then it keeps uploading to your account. Thankfully, you can change the save location for the screenshots instead of crowding your desktop.
Here's the command you need to type before hitting Enter:
In the above command, you can provide any specific file location instead of ~/Downloads as shown.
After hitting Enter, I need to reset the SystemUIServer for the changes to take effect immediately. So feed in the following command.
Though it is not required, I would recommend restarting your Mac.
3. Change Screenshot Image Type
The macOS saves the screenshots in JPG format by default. You can change that to save them in PNG or PDF formats too. Here's how to do that quickly with this specific command:
After that, you need to kill the SystemUIServer again.
Most commands which require some system changes shall mandate shutting down the SystemUIServer. So do that quickly.
Now, your new screenshots will save in the PNG format. Do note that PNG files are generally larger than JPG files. So keep an eye on how much storage space they consume.
4. Show Hidden Files
Have you tried looking for the option to let the Finder show hidden files? Well, it is tougher than picking the show hidden files on Windows. I always forget how to enable that. Thankfully there is a helpful command that makes it happen in a few seconds.
After that, you need to force shut the Finder.
Now you should see a lot of hidden files in the Finder. They would be greyed out but still visible. If you roll back this change, then you need to change TRUE to FALSE in the command.
5. Switch Off the Dashboard
Apple promoted the Dashboard view to access calculator and sticky notes quickly. I bet you rarely use that one for you can launch the Calculator app or Sticky Notes app using Mission Control of Spotlight. So you can switch it off and don't have to worry about opening it by mistake.
Here's the command to turn off the Dashboard.
Next, you must kill the Dock so that the changes are correctly applied.
Now I don't have to worry about accidentally opening the Dashboard. If you want to switch it on again, then change TRUE to FALSE in the command.
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Read More6. Download Files
Did you know that you can download files using the Terminal? Yes, you don't need to keep the browser running just for that file. Best video games mac app store. The only requirement here is that you must have the file's download link. So the command syntax is:
curl -0 downloadlink
First, navigate to the folder where you want to download the file. For that, you need to switch to the Downloads directory.
After that, you can feed the command to download the VLC for macOS from the official site. It would appear something like this:
Note: There is a letter O in the command and not the 0 (zero).7. Ditto for Backups
Copying files and taking backups on macOS is quite swift — thanks to the SSDs and the flash storage. However, it does take a while to copy a large amount of data. Thankfully, Terminal offers a useful command to copy files. Here's how you can do it while watching the name of files that the command copies.
ditto -V /currentpath/ /new/path/
So I want to copy the DMG downloaded in the previous section to the desktop.
That should do the needful. If you want to copy the files to an external drive, then you need to provide the destination path correctly.
8. Always Show File Path in the Finder
If you have switched from Windows recently, you would have noticed that the Finder on macOS doesn't show file path like the Explorer in Windows. However, you can force Finder to show you the file path with this command:
After hitting enter, you need to stop the Finder.
After you hit Enter, the Finder will relaunch. Then you should see the file paths at the top of the Finder window.
9. Power Chime on Connecting the Charger
Has it ever happened that you've connected the MagSafe charger to your Mac but forgot to flip on the power switch? I have lost the count. Thankfully, I stumbled upon this useful command that provides an audio feedback chime whenever I connect the MagSafe charger.
Feed this command in the Terminal and hit Enter.
10. Stop Your Mac from Sleeping
Often you are downloading a massive file, and you don't want your Mac go to sleep. If it is a temporary requirement, then a simple command can make it happen. Just type the following command, hit Enter and walk away from your Mac.
In this command, the number 600 signifies seconds. So with this command, the Mac won't sleep until 10 minutes (600 seconds). You can enter a relevant number of seconds or just the word 'caffeinate' to prevent your Mac from sleeping.
https://brownillinois388.weebly.com/blog/mac-apps-won-39.
https://brownillinois388.weebly.com/blog/mac-apps-won-39.
However, if you close that Terminal window, then the command will stop executing and the Mac will go to sleep on a predefined time.
11. Check Your Mac's Uptime
Wondering how long it has been since you've restarted your Mac? A simple restart can sort a lot of things in order and boost your Mac's performance. Here's a command to check your how long your Mac has been running without a Restart or a Shutdown
That should give you all the details with a timestamp.
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#productivity
Click here to see our productivity articles pageUsing Terminal Is Fun
The Terminal is an absolute delight to use and tinker around in the macOS. However, we would strictly advise against using random commands provided by unverified sources or strangers. Other than that, these commands should run on latest macOS Mojave update till last few versions.
You should always double-check the Terminal commands that involve removing, deleting or disabling any service. If you stick to our list, then you would be confident of using Terminal like a pro.
Next up: Are you bored of the same old Lock Screen on your Mac? Here is a nifty guide that will show how to customize the lock screen on your macOS Mojave running Mac.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextHow to Customize the Lock Screen on macOS 10.14 MojaveAlso See#terminal #macos
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Thunderbolt 3 is a data and video transfer protocol and is developed by Intel.
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if you have a VPS or a server running linux need to manage via SSH. On Windows you will have loads of options such as PuTTY, kitty, MobaXterm … but on MacOS majority are paid app to use.
But there are still free apps with great features that satisfy your needs. We list the 5 most prominent apps below.
1. Termius SSH client
Download: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/termius-ssh-client/id1176074088?l=en&mt=12
Termius is more than a mere SSH client – it’s a complete command-line solution that’s redefining remote access for sysadmins and network engineers. Securely access Linux or IoT devices and quickly fix issues from the comfort of your couch via laptop or phone.
Features:
- Termius is available for all major mobile and desktop systems.
- Enjoy a beautiful, hand-crafted interface.
- Supports ECDSA and ed25519 keys as well as chacha20-poly1305 cipher.
- Termius is always ad-free. You are not the product.
- Pair credentials and servers for quick access.
- Create groups to define shared settings and themes.
- Tag your servers to stay organized.
- Make it yours with 12 colorful themes and adjustable fonts.
- Power through late night sessions with dark mode.
- Make multiple connections to the same host or connect to multiple hosts.
- Port forwarding lets you encrypt nearly any service or connection.
2. Core Shell – SSH Client 4+
Download:https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/core-shell-ssh-client/id1354319581?l=en&mt=12
A full featured terminal with built-in OpenSSH support, it’s focused on managing and login to hosts efficiently. Don’t waste your time; be productive.
Features
Full-featured Terminal
- Compatible with Terminal.app and xterm.
- Supports ANSI 16 and 256 color palettes, as well as 24bit true color.
- Passed cases of *vttest– a strict VT100/VT220/VT420 terminal functionality test suite.
OpenSSH Compatible
- Everything in OpenSSH, agent forwarding, certificates, proxy jump, etc.
- Can read your existing `ssh_config` file as the source of advanced options, especially helpful for experienced users.
- Can work with GnuPG agent, YubiKey, Authy and Google Authenticator.
Download/Upload
- Upload files by dragging and dropping to the shell window.
- Download remote files with single click on context menu or press a key combination.
Keychain Integration
- Tightly integrated with macOS Keychain, don’t have to enter passwords or passphrases repeatedly.
- It’s totally optionally, you can opt-in or opt-out at any time.
Advanced Options Editor
- A handy way to tune per-host advanced options.
- For every ssh directives, there is a contextual help provides immediate information, no more googling.
Automatic Reconnect
- Always tries to restore your connections after network failure or waking up from sleep.
Theming
- Eight built-in color schemes: Basic, Dracula, Grass, Homebrew, Man Page, Novel, Ocean, Red Sands
- Our color optimization ensure that colorful text always clearly visible.
Tags
- Use tags to organize your hundreds or thousands of hosts.
- Tag your host by a simple drag & drop actions.
Premium Features
- Unlimited number of connections
- Importing and exporting
- Sync hosts and tags between all of your Mac computers
- Scriptable (automation with AppleScript and Automator)
- Prioritized customer support
Premium License
- USD 9.99 for 1-Year License
- USD 29.99 for 4-Year License (save 25%)
3. SSH Proxy 4+
Download: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/ssh-proxy/id597790822?l=en&mt=12 Mac open app with preferrred program.
SSH Proxy can help you turn any remote SSH server into a SOCKS / HTTPS proxy, intuitive and easy to use.
SSH Proxy is able to remember the SSH login password & private key passphrase and save it to OS X’s keychain. Furthermore, SSH Proxy is designed to automatically reconnect when your Mac is waking up from sleep.
Features:
- Auto launch when log in OS X
- Create HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS4/4A and SOCKS5 proxy through SSH tunnel
- Ability to share created proxy on LAN
- Fast switch between multiple SSH accounts
- Automatically reconnect after disconnected by errors or waking up from sleep
- Remember SSH login password & private key passphrase in OS X Keychain automatically
- Whitelist, only sites on the list will be accessed through the proxy server, other sites will be connected directly
SSH Functions:
- Able to compress SSH connection
- Connecting through SOCKS5 / SOCKS4 / HTTPS proxy with authentication
- Support public-key, password, keyboard-interactive and multi-factor authentication methods
- Support Google Authenticator and Authy for two-step verification
- Support multi-factor authentication
- Can deal with DSA, RSA, ECDSA, ed25519 private key types
- RFC4716, PKCS#8 and PEM key formats are supported, compatible with OpenSSH
Note:
- SSH Proxy supports SSH-2 protocol, the vulnerable and obsoleted SSH-1 is not supported. Most modern servers and clients support SSH-2.
- You got to have a remote SSH server before downloading and using SSH Proxy, SSH Proxy does not provide you SSH service.
4. Zen Term Lite SSH Client 4+
Download:https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/zen-term-lite-ssh-client/id1422475219?l=en&mt=12
Zen Term Lite is a powerful terminal emulator that supports SSH, ZModem, and provides various authentication methods. You can easily use it to connect to Linux, UNIX and Mac hosts.
Note: Zen Term lite edition doesn’t provide SFTP functionality, please use standard edition to get full experience.
Features:
Terminal
- Supports VT100, XTERM, XTERM-256color terminal emulation.
- Supports encoding and decoding character sets from multiple languages, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean multi-byte character sets.
- The scrollback buffer can be configured to save up to 10,000 lines.
Security
- Master password is encrypted and stored in Apple KeyChain, and connection passwords and passphrases are encrypted by master password, so that you don’t have to input password/passphrase repeatedly.
- Supports RSA/DSA/ECDSA/ED25519 public key, password, and keyboard interactive user authentication.
- User key generation: generate RSA/DSA/ECDSA/ED25519 private keys.
- User key management: allows user keys to be viewed, generated, removed, imported and exported.
- Host key management: allows host keys to be viewed, removed, imported and exported.
Appearence
- Multiple terminal color schemes are provided, and you can create new color schemes with customized foreground, background, and ANSI colors.
- Change font name and size.
- Change cursor color, shape and blinking.
- Supports the creation of multiple TAB groups, the app window can be splitted horizontally or vertically, and tabs can be dragged and dropped between TAB groups.
- Force Touch can open a search engine or dictionary.
- Supports macOS dark mode.
- File transfers
- Send and receives files via ZModem.
- Drag and drop files and folders onto the shell session to start ZModem file transfers.
5. Core Tunnel – SSH Tunnel 2 4+
Download: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/core-tunnel-ssh-tunnel-2/id1354318707?l=en&mt=12
The missing ssh tunnel manager, compatible with OpenSSH, automatic and intuitive. Don’t waste your time; be productive.
Features:
- OpenSSH Compatible
- Everything in OpenSSH, local / remote / dynamic port forwarding types, agent forwarding, certificates, proxy jump, etc.
- Can read your existing `ssh_config` file as the source of advanced options, especially helpful for experienced users.
- Can work with GnuPG agent, YubiKey, Authy and Google Authenticator.
- Keychain Integration
- Tightly integrated with macOS Keychain, don’t have to enter passwords or passphrases repeatedly.
- It’s totally optionally, you can opt-in or opt-out at any time.
- Advanced Options Editor
- A handy way to tune per-host advanced options.
- For every ssh directives, there is a contextual help provides immediate information, no more googling.
- Automatic Reconnect
- Always tries to restore your connections after network failure or waking up from sleep.
- Tunnels can be set to connect on app startup.
- Menubar Icon
- Control and monitor tunnels without switching out your current working window.
- Tags
- Use tags to organize your hundreds or thousands of tunnels.
- Tag your tunnel by a simple drag & drop actions.
Premium Features
- Unlimited number of connections
- Importing and exporting
- Sync hosts and tags between all of your Mac computers
- Scriptable (automation with AppleScript and Automator)
- Prioritized customer support
Premium License
- USD 9.99 for 1-Year License
- USD 29.99 for 4-Year License (save 25%)