How to start finder from command line:
Open up Terminal and run the command below (dot means current directory).
user@osx$ open .
How to restart the graphical interface of OS X:
user@osx$ sudo killall -HUP WindowServer
How to retrieve CPU information via command line in OS X:
sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string
system_profiler | grep Processor
How to retreive CPU and Memory information in OS X (works also on the iPhone's console):
patrues:~ root# hostinfo
Mach kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 11.0.0: Tue Nov 1 20:34:16 PDT 2011; root:xnu-1878.4.46~1/RELEASE_ARM_S5L8940X
Kernel configured for up to 2 processors.
2 processors are physically available.
2 processors are logically available.
Processor type: armv7f (arm v7f)
Processors active: 0 1
Primary memory available: 504.95 megabytes
Default processor set: 35 tasks, 293 threads, 2 processors
Load average: 0.65, Mach factor: 1.36How to restart Finder from command line in OS X:
osx:~ osx$ osascript -e 'tell app "Finder" to quit'
How to force the rebuild of Spotlight index in OS X:
osx:~ osx$ sudo mdutil -E /
How to mount NFS from command line in OS X:
osx:~ root# mount -t nfs 192.168.11.1:/home/stuff /mnt
If you get the following error mount_nfs: /mnt: Operation not permitted, mount it with -o resvport:
osx:~ root# mount -t nfs -o resvport 192.168.11.1:/home/stuff /mnt osx:~ root# df -h /mnt Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on 192.168.11.1:/home/stuff 50Gi 35Gi 15Gi 70% /mnt
How to share NFS mount in OS X:
Here you have no choice but to use command line.
1. Populate (create or update) the file /etc/exports (type man exports if you do not know how):
eeny:~ osx$ cat /etc/exports /Volumes/vbox/ -network 192.168.13.29 -mask 255.255.255.0
2. Restat nfsd as follows:
eeny:~ osx$ sudo nfsd disable eeny:~ osx$ sudo nfsd enable
3. see the results:
eeny:~ osx$ showmount -e Exports list on localhost: /Volumes/vbox 192.168.13.29
PS: if you get "cannot chown" even if you have full access, you must add -mapall option:
eeny:incoming osx$ cat /etc/exports /Volumes/vbox/incoming -alldirs -mapall
How to execute dd over ssh in OS X (in our example, how to make a dump of your iphone's disk - use /dev/disk0s1s2 for /private/var partition):
from the iPhone: patrues:/ root# dd if=/dev/disk0 bs=1M | ssh username@mac ‘dd of=iphone-dump.img’
from Mac: mac: /# ssh user@patrues dd if=/dev/disk0 bs=1M | dd of=iphone-dump.img
How to (re)install rEfit in OS X:
florians-MacBook-Pro:~ florian$ cd /efi/refit/ florians-MacBook-Pro:refit florian$ ls enable-always.sh icons refit.efi enable.sh refit.conf refit.vollabel florians-MacBook-Pro:refit florian$ ./enable.sh + sudo bless --folder /efi/refit --file /efi/refit/refit.efi --labelfile /efi/refit/refit.vollabel Password: florians-MacBook-Pro:refit florian$
How to get the OS X Version from command line:
osx:~ osx$ sw_vers ProductName: Mac OS X Server ProductVersion: 10.6 BuildVersion: 10A433
How to do a time delayed screen capture via terminal in OS X:
osx:~ osx$ screencapture -T 10 screenshot.jpg
How to lock/unlock a file from command line in OS X:
Mac OS X uses the immutable bit to designate that a file is locked.
To lock with chflags directly: osx:~ osx$ chflags uchg /path/to/file
To lock with find and chflags: find /path/to/files/ -flags nouchg -exec chflags uchg {} \;
To unlock with chflags directly: osx:~ osx$ chflags nouchg /path/to/file
To unlock with find and chflags: find /path/to/files/ -flags uchg -exec chflags nouchg {} \;
How to search for locked/unlocked files from command line in MacOS:
Locked files: find /path/to/files/ -flags uchg -ls
Unlocked files: find /path/to/files/ -flags nouchg -ls
How to reset the Spotlight data cache:
osx:~ osx$ sudo mdutil -E /
How to enable Spotlight data cache:
osx:~ osx$ sudo mdutil -i on /
How to disable Spotlight:
osx:~ osx$sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
How to re-enable Spotlight:
osx:~ osx$sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
How to “trace” disk I/O execution live. Each time a disk I/O completes, a line of output is printed to summarize it, including process name and filename details:
flmbp:~ root# iosnoop
UID PID D BLOCK SIZE COMM PATHNAME
0 7971 R 6289576 8192 spindump ??/<unknown (NULL v_parent)>/<unknown (NULL v_name)>
0 7971 R 801736 8192 spindump ??/<unknown (NULL v_parent)>/<unknown (NULL v_name)>How to measure I/O before it is processed by the HFS+ file system. (iosnoop measures I/O after the file system, and only if it reaches disk)
flmbp:~ root# hfsslower.d
How to trace outbound TCP connections along with details:
flmbp:~ root# socconnect_mac.d
How to print a line for each new process that is executed (run this and do something):
flmbp:~ root# execsnoop
UID PID PPID ARGS
501 8016 355 QuickLookUIHelpe
501 8017 1 com.apple.audio.
0 8017 1 xpcproxy
0 8018 1 xpcproxy
501 8018 1 com.apple.audio.
0 8019 1 xpcproxy
501 8019 1 VTDecoderXPCServHow to trace file opens and print various details:
flmbp:~ root# opensnoop
UID PID COMM FD PATH
0 78 cfprefsd -1 /Library/Managed Preferences/com.apple.AddressBookSourceSync.plist
0 78 cfprefsd -1 /Library/Managed Preferences/com.apple.AddressBookSourceSync.plist
0 78 cfprefsd -1 /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBookSourceSync.plist
0 78 cfprefsd -1 /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBookSourceSync.plist
501 8108 AddressBookSour 4 /etc/localtime
501 8108 AddressBookSour 4 /.vol/16777220/92116233How to trace all types of system calls (like strace on linux):
flmbp:~ root# dtruss type
SYSCALL(args) = return
thread_selfid(0x0, 0x1DC0, 0x7FFF6A359550) = 830326 0
csops(0x0, 0x0, 0x7FFF537D0444) = 0 0
issetugid(0x0, 0x0, 0x0) = 0 0
shared_region_check_np(0x7FFF537CE378, 0x10C42F000, 0x4) = 0 0
stat64("/usr/lib/dtrace/libdtrace_dyld.dylib\0", 0x7FFF537CF528, 0x7FFF537D0460) = 0 0
open("/usr/lib/dtrace/libdtrace_dyld.dylib\0", 0x0, 0x0) = 3 0
[...]
sigaltstack(0x0, 0x7FFF537D0AF0, 0x0) = 0 0
read(0xFF, "\0", 0xBE) = 0 0
read(0x3, "type\n\0", 0x80) = 5 0How to provide a summary of which system calls were failing, showing the process name, error code, and short description of the error:
flmbp:~ root# errinfo -c
Tracing... Hit Ctrl-C to end.
^C
EXEC SYSCALL ERR COUNT DESC
ServerPerfLog __semwait_signal 60 1 Operation timed out
ServerPerfLog proc_info 22 1 Invalid argument
perl5.16 sigreturn -2 1
ServerPerfLog proc_info 3 17 No such processHow to characterize the disk I/O workload, showing a distribution of the size of the I/O in bytes along with the application name:
florians-MacBook-Pro:~ root# bitesize.d
Tracing... Hit Ctrl-C to end.
^C
PID CMD
74 cfbackd\0
value ------------- Distribution ------------- count
2048 | 0
4096 |@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 17
8192 |@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 12
16384 | 0
1 launchd\0
value ------------- Distribution ------------- count
2048 | 0
4096 |@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 16
8192 |@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 26
16384 | 0How to show the same data as iosnoop, but in a summarized way similar to top:
flmbp:~ root# iotop
Tracing... Please wait.
2014 Feb 14 00:34:57, load: 0.53, disk_r: 0 KB, disk_w: 252 KB
UID PID PPID CMD DEVICE MAJ MIN D BYTES
0 0 0 ?? 1 4 242688
0 1 0 launchd ?? 1 4 W 258048How to trace the creation and deletion of files:
flmbp:~ root# maclife.d
How to disable ipv6 in MAC OS X (the command id giving no output if successful):
flmbp:~ root# networksetup -setv6off Wi-Fi flmbp:~ root# networksetup -setv6off Ethernet
How to clear (clean) "Open With" menu:
Go to ~/Library/Preferences and then delete “com.apple.LaunchServices.plist” file.
How to check the power management status:
osx:~ osx$ pmset -g Active Profiles: AC Power -1* Currently in use: hibernatemode 0 sleep 10 (sleep prevented by 35, 65, 65, 65, 65, 155, 337) powerbutton 1 ttyskeepawake 1 hibernatefile /var/vm/sleepimage disksleep 10 displaysleep 10
How to disable hibernation:
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0 sudo pmset -a autopoweroff 0 sudo pmset -a standby 0 sudo rm /var/vm/sleepimage
How to create bootable OS X image with iesd (in our example we use Yosemite app store package):
florians-MacBook-Pro:~ root# gem install iesd Fetching: iesd-1.2.1.gem (100%) Successfully installed iesd-1.2.1 Parsing documentation for iesd-1.2.1 Installing ri documentation for iesd-1.2.1 1 gem installed florians-MacBook-Pro:~ root# iesd -i /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite\ Beta.app -o Yosemite.dmg -t BaseSystem ==> Mounting /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite Beta.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg Mounted: /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1nc9m1 ==> Mounting /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1nc9m1/BaseSystem.dmg Mounted: /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1xohbi0/d20140730-32110-1v9dgx8 ==> Copying /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1nc9m1/Packages Copied: /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1xohbi0/d20140730-32110-1v9dgx8/System/Installation/Packages ==> Unmounting /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1nc9m1/BaseSystem.dmg Unmounted: /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1xohbi0/d20140730-32110-1v9dgx8 ==> Merging /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1xohbi0/BaseSystem.dmg.shadow Merged: /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1qohe3d/BaseSystem.dmg ==> Unmounting /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite Beta.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg Unmounted: /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/d20140730-32110-1nc9m1 /private/var/root/Yosemite.dmg
How to check the custom kernel extentions (not the ones apple os is coming with):
note: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000000000 is what I have edited to mask my output. In yours, you will see (instead of zeros) a combination of numbers and letters.
mini:~ osx$ kextstat | grep -v com.apple Index Refs Address Size Wired Name (Version) UUID <Linked Against> 137 3 0xffffff7f82ef4000 0x60000 0x60000 org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (5.0.10) 00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000000000 <7 5 4 3 1> 141 0 0xffffff7f82f54000 0x8000 0x8000 org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (5.0.10) 00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000000000 <140 137 40 7 5 4 3 1> 142 0 0xffffff7f82f5c000 0x5000 0x5000 org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (5.0.10) 00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000000000 <137 7 5 4 3 1> 144 0 0xffffff7f82f61000 0x6000 0x6000 org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (5.0.10) 00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000000000 <137 5 4 1>
How to enable/disable firewall via command line:
Enable: sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf globalstate -int 1
Disable:defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf globalstate -int 0
How to check wether trim is enabled or not for your SSDs on your system:
system_profiler SPSerialATADataType | grep 'TRIM'
Example of trim not enabled:
[osx@mini ~]$ system_profiler SPSerialATADataType | grep 'TRIM'
TRIM Support: NoInfo about enabling TRIM on 3rd party SSDs: https://www.howtogeek.com/222077/how-to-enable-trim-for-third-party-ssds-on-mac-os-x/
How to stop/start the firewall via command line:
To stop:
launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.alf.useragent.plist sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.alf.agent.plist
To start:
launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.alf.agent.plist launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.alf.useragent.plist
How to list the firewall's trusted applications via command line:
sudo /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw -l | grep TRUSTEDAPPS
How to free up inactive memory via command line:
sudo purge
How to force Aperture Library to be repaired next time is open:
In example below we want Current.aplibrary to be verified.
$ touch Current.aplibrary/repairOnLaunch $ ls -la Current.aplibrary/repairOnLaunch -rw-r--r--@ 1 florian polkitd 0 Jan 23 18:17 Current.aplibrary/repairOnLaunch
How to show only active apps in dock
$ defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool true; killall Dock
In order to revert the Dock state to its original state:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool false; killall Dock
How to insert space into the macOS dock:
NOTE: you can insert as many spaces you need by repeating the provided command below.
$ defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps-array-add ‘{“tile-type”=“spacer-tile”;}’; killall Dock
