In this section, we will introduce five common commands that every Mac admin should know, but first, let’s learn how to gain admin level privileges. From showing hidden files, to getting a list of actively running computer processes, to rebooting a remote workstation, to automating workflows, the number of tasks you can achieve with the terminal app is impressive. You can accomplish many tasks via the CLI, both easy and difficult. Figure 2 Figure 3 What Is Possible with Terminal? Once you launch the app, a small window with a command prompt will appear this is the powerful command line (Figure 3). To open Terminal on your Mac, you can search “terminal” in Spotlight as shown in Figure 2 or navigate through Applications > Utilities > Terminal. It’s important to note that the command and arguments you type in Terminal are case sensitive. Instead, you will get a new line with your username as shown in Figure 1. When a command is successful, the command line does not display any indicator to notify you of the success. You can also leverage the app to securely connect to servers and workstations remotely and to create simple or complex scripts for automating actions.

With an admin account, you can make a tweak to almost everything on your Mac via the Terminal.app. What Is the Command Line?Ī command line, accessed with Terminal.app, empowers you to work on Macs remotely or locally and control a macOS system through a series of text-based commands and scripts. In this article we will explore the command line, plus its applications and key benefits for IT admins.

In fact, there are some tasks that cannot be accomplished by any other method except the command line. To carry out your role efficiently, it is helpful to understand how to use the common Unix commands.Īdditionally, while most users of macOS are more familiar with the graphical user interface (GUI), the command line interface (CLI) is more powerful and saves time. As a Mac admin, or an IT admin overseeing a cross-OS fleet, your role revolves around managing your company’s Apple system infrastructure.

Mac os cmd