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macOS

18 cheat sheets

macOS#

Essential macOS reference — terminal commands, built-in utilities, Homebrew, system tools, and power-user workflows.

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macOS CLI — Command Line Reference

Comprehensive macOS terminal reference covering file management, processes, networking, Homebrew, defaults, diskutil, launchctl, pbcopy/pbpaste, open, say, and power-user recipes.

May 26, 2026
macos osx terminal shell cli bash zsh brew homebrew system web-researched

sips — Scriptable Image Processing

macOS built-in image processor covering format conversion, resizing, cropping, rotation, color profiles, metadata inspection, and batch processing recipes.

May 26, 2026
sips macos osx images convert resize batch heic jpeg png web-researched

diskutil — macOS Disk & APFS Management

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.

May 26, 2026
diskutil macos disk apfs sysadmin cli encryption web-researched

networksetup — macOS Network Configuration

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.

May 26, 2026
networksetup macos networking wifi dns proxy sysadmin cli web-researched

codesign — macOS Code Signing, Notarization & Stapling

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.

May 26, 2026
codesign macos security signing notarization gatekeeper distribution cli web-researched

xattr — Extended Attributes on macOS

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.

May 26, 2026
xattr macos cli filesystem security gatekeeper quarantine acl metadata web-researched

defaults — macOS Preferences From the Command Line

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.

May 26, 2026
macos customization prefs web-researched

duti — Set Default Applications on macOS

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.

May 26, 2026
duti macos cli launch-services default-apps uti automation web-researched

Homebrew — The Missing Package Manager for macOS

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.

May 26, 2026
macos package-manager cli web-researched

launchctl — Managing launchd Agents and Daemons

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.

May 26, 2026
macos sysadmin services web-researched

softwareupdate — macOS Updates From the Terminal

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.

May 26, 2026
softwareupdate macos sysadmin updates rosetta mas brew cli web-researched

caffeinate — Keep macOS Awake on Demand

Prevent display, idle, system, or user-active sleep for the duration of a command, a fixed time, or a process — without permanently changing pmset.

May 26, 2026
macos caffeinate cli power scripting pmset web-researched

mdfind — Spotlight Search From the Terminal

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.

May 26, 2026
mdfind macos search cli spotlight filesystem web-researched

system_profiler — macOS Hardware & Software Inventory

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.

May 26, 2026
system_profiler macos sysadmin inventory hardware json plutil jq cli web-researched

pbcopy & pbpaste — macOS Clipboard CLI

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.

May 26, 2026
pbcopy pbpaste macos cli clipboard pipes scripting web-researched

pmset — macOS Power Management

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.

May 26, 2026
macos pmset cli power sysadmin sleep battery web-researched

osascript — Run AppleScript and JXA From the Shell

Drive macOS GUI apps, system events, dialogs, notifications, and Finder from the terminal using AppleScript or JavaScript for Automation (JXA).

May 26, 2026
osascript applescript jxa macos automation scripting gui web-researched

tmutil — Time Machine from the Command Line

Drive Time Machine backups, destinations, exclusions, local APFS snapshots, restores, and verification entirely from the terminal — without opening System Settings.

May 26, 2026
macos tmutil cli backup time-machine apfs snapshots sysadmin web-researched