A-Z Index of the Apple OS X command line

The tcsh command shell of Darwin (the open source core of OSX)

alias     Create an alias

alloc     List used and free memory

awk       Find and Replace text within file(s)

basename  Convert a full pathname to just a folder path

bash      Bourne-Again SHell (Linux)

bless     Set volume bootability and startup disk options.

break     Exit from a loop

cal       Display a calendar

case      Conditionally perform a command

cat       Display the contents of a file

cd        Change Directory

chflags   Change a file or folder's flags.

chgrp     Change group ownership

chmod     Change access permissions

chown     Change file owner and group

chroot    Run a command with a different root directory

cksum     Print CRC checksum and byte counts

clear     Clear terminal screen

cmp       Compare two files

comm      Compare two sorted files line by line

complete  Edit a command completion [word/pattern/list]

continue  Resume the next iteration of a loop

cp        Copy one or more files to another location

cron      Daemon to execute scheduled commands

crontab   Schedule a command to run at a later date/time

cut       Divide a file into several parts

date      Display or change the date & time

dc        Desk Calculator

dd        Data Dump - Convert and copy a file

df        Display free disk space

diff      Display the differences between two files

diff3     Show differences among three files

dig       DNS lookup

dirname   Convert a full pathname to just a path

dirs      Display list of remembered directories

diskutil  Disk utilities - Format, Verify, Repair

ditto     Copy files and folders

dscl      Directory Service command line utility

du        Estimate file space usage

echo      Display message on screen

ed        A line-oriented text editor (edlin)

enable    Stop or start printers and classes.

env       Set environment and run a utility

eval      Evaluate several commands/arguments

exec      Execute a command

exit      Exit the shell

expect    Programmed dialogue with interactive programs

          Also see AppleScript

expand    Convert tabs to spaces

expr      Evaluate expressions

false     Do nothing, unsuccessfully

fdisk     Partition table manipulator for Darwin UFS/HFS/DOS

find      Search for files that meet a desired criteria

fmt       Reformat paragraph text

fold      Wrap text to fit a specified width

for       Expand words, and execute commands

foreach   Loop, expand words, and execute commands

fsck      Filesystem consistency check and repair

fs_usage  Filesystem usage (process/pathname)

ftp       Internet file transfer program

GetFileInfo Get attributes of HFS+ files

getopt    Parse positional parameters

goto      Jump to label and continue execution

grep      Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern

groups    Print group names a user is in

gzip      Compress or decompress files

head      Display the first lines of a file

hdiutil   Manipulate iso disk images

history   Command History

hostname  Print or set system name

id        Print user and group names/id's

if        Conditionally perform a command

info      Help info

install   Copy files and set attributes

jobs      List active jobs

join      Join lines on a common field

kill      Stop a process from running

l         List files in long format (ls -l)

ll        List files in long format, showing invisible files (ls -la)

less      Display output one screen at a time

ln        Make links between files (hard links, symbolic links)

locate    Find files

logname   Print current login name

login     log into the computer

logout    Exit a login shell (bye)

lpr       Print files

lprm      Remove jobs from the print queue

lpstat    Printer status information

ls        List information about file(s)

lsbom     List a bill of materials file

lsof      List open files

man       Help manual

mkdir     Create new folder(s)

mkfifo    Make FIFOs (named pipes)

more      Display output one screen at a time

mount     Mount a file system

mv        Move or rename files or directories

net       Manage network resources 

nice      Set the priority of a command

nohup     Run a command immune to hangups

onintr    Control the action of a shell interrupt

open      Open a file/folder/URL/Application

osascript Execute AppleScript

passwd    Modify a user password

paste     Merge lines of files

pbcopy    Copy data to the clipboard

pbpaste   Paste data from the Clipboard

pico      Simple text editor

ping      Test a network connection

pmset     Power Management settings

popd      Restore the previous value of the current directory

pr        Convert text files for printing

printenv  Print environment variables

printf    Format and print data

ps        Process status

pushd     Save and then change the current directory

pwd       Print Working Directory

quota     Display disk usage and limits

rcp       Copy files between machines.

repeat    Execute a command multiple times

rm        Remove files

rmdir     Remove folder(s)

rpm       Remote Package Manager

rsync     Remote file copy - Sync file tree (also RsyncX)

say       Convert text to audible speech

sched     Schedule a command to run at a later time.

screencapture Capture screen image to file or disk

sdiff     Merge two files interactively

security  Administer Keychains, keys, certificates and the Security framework

sed       Stream Editor

set       Set a shell variable = value

setenv    Set an environment variable = value

setfile   Set attributes of HFS+ files

shift     Shift positional parameters

shutdown  Shutdown or restart OS X

sleep     Delay for a specified time

softwareupdate System software update tool

sort      Sort text files

split     Split a file into fixed-size pieces

stop      Stop a job or process

su        Substitute user identity

sudo      Execute a command as another user

sum       Print a checksum for a file

switch    Conditionally perform a command

tail      Output the last part of files

tar       Tape ARchiver

tee       Redirect output to multiple files

test      Condition evaluation

time      Measure Program Resource Use

touch     Change file timestamps

traceroute Trace Route to Host

tr        Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters

true      Do nothing, successfully

tty       Print filename of terminal on stdin

type      Describe a command

umask     Users file creation mask

umount    a device

unalias   Remove an alias

uname     Print system information

unexpand  Convert spaces to tabs

uniq      Uniquify files

units     Convert units from one scale to another

unset     Remove variable or function names

unsetenv  Remove environment variable

users     Print login names of users currently logged in

uuencode  Encode a binary file

uudecode  Decode a file created by uuencode

vi        Text Editor

wc        Print byte, word, and line counts

where     Report all known instances of a command

which     Locate a program file in the user's path

while     Execute commands

who       Print all usernames currently logged on

whoami    Print the current user id and name (`id -un')

xargs     Execute utility - passing arguments

yes       Print a string until interrupted