#macos
22 pages tagged macos.
Homebrew
The missing package manager for macOS and Linux.
xattr
Deep-dive on macOS extended attributes — listing, reading, writing, and removing xattrs with xattr(1); the Gatekeeper com.apple.quarantine flag; Spotlight metadata attributes; ACLs via ls -le and chmod +a; preserving attributes on copy with cp -p and rsync -X.
tmutil
Drive Time Machine backups, destinations, exclusions, local APFS snapshots, restores, and verification entirely from the terminal — without opening System Settings.
system_profiler
Deep-dive on system_profiler(8) — macOS's built-in inventory tool. Covers data types, text/XML/JSON output, piping into jq and plutil, common SP* probes (hardware, displays, memory, storage, USB, network, software), detail levels, and fleet inventory recipes.
softwareupdate
Deep-dive on softwareupdate(8), Apple's CLI for macOS system updates — listing pending updates, installing recommended-only or specific items, scheduling, ignoring updates, installing Rosetta and Command Line Tools, and pairing with mas and brew for full system update automation.
sips
macOS built-in image processor covering format conversion, resizing, cropping, rotation, color profiles, metadata inspection, and batch processing recipes.
pmset
Inspect and configure sleep, wake, hibernate, and battery behaviour on macOS. Covers per-source profiles, scheduled wake, sleep-prevention diagnostics, battery reports, and hibernate modes.
pbcopy & pbpaste
Pipe data into and out of the macOS pasteboard from the shell — multi-pasteboard targets, newline handling, shell aliases, and real-world copy-paste recipes.
osascript
Drive macOS GUI apps, system events, dialogs, notifications, and Finder from the terminal using AppleScript or JavaScript for Automation (JXA).
networksetup
Script every aspect of macOS network configuration — Wi-Fi joining, DNS servers, proxies, locations, and service order — from a single first-party command-line tool.
mdfind
Query macOS's Spotlight index from the shell — fast name, content, and metadata search across the whole filesystem, with scope, attributes, and live-update modes.
macOS CLI
Comprehensive macOS terminal reference covering file management, processes, networking, Homebrew, defaults, diskutil, launchctl, pbcopy/pbpaste, open, say, and power-user recipes.
launchctl
Bootstrap, bootout, kickstart, print, and enable/disable services with launchctl on macOS: agents vs daemons, plist anatomy, user/system domains, RunAtLoad vs KeepAlive vs StartInterval vs StartCalendarInterval, and recipes for periodic scripts and on-demand workers.
Homebrew
Install, search, upgrade, pin, tap, bottle, and bundle packages with Homebrew on macOS: formulae vs casks, brew services, Brewfile-driven machine bootstrap, Apple-Silicon vs Intel prefixes, brew doctor, brew cleanup, and recovery recipes.
duti
Drive macOS Launch Services from the command line — assign default apps for UTIs, file extensions, and URL schemes; understand the viewer/editor/all/shell/none roles; bulk-load file associations from a settings file; rebuild the Launch Services database when changes refuse to stick.
diskutil
Command-line front-end to Disk Utility on macOS — list, partition, format, repair, encrypt, and snapshot APFS containers, plus build and tear down software RAID volumes.
defaults
Read, write, search, and delete macOS preference plists with the `defaults` CLI: data types, domains, current-host scope, the killall dance, finding undocumented keys via plist diffing, and a curated bootstrap recipe.
codesign
End-to-end macOS distribution pipeline — sign binaries and app bundles with codesign, notarize with notarytool, staple tickets with stapler, and verify Gatekeeper acceptance with spctl.
caffeinate
Prevent display, idle, system, or user-active sleep for the duration of a command, a fixed time, or a process — without permanently changing pmset.
Python Installation
Install Python 3 on macOS via Homebrew or pyenv. Explains the system-Python warning, PATH precedence, and verification steps.
Operating Systems
Command-line references and tooling guides for Linux, Windows, z/OS, and macOS.
macOS
Command-line tools, system utilities, Homebrew, Finder tricks, and macOS-specific development workflows.