MacOS CLI Tips

• brew
• launchctl
• smbutil
• List hardware using system_profiler
• more macOS (bash) commands

Show hidden files and folders

Use defaults:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true

Enable Check for Updates

Use defaults:

defaults write com.apple.SoftwareUpdate ScheduleFrequency -int 1

Prevent Sleep Mode

Use caffeinate to keep your Mac from falling asleep:

caffeinate

Copy Files & Directories

Use ditto, it preserves:

• ownership attributes and permissions
• file resource forks
• file and folder metadata

ditto ~/Desktop/FluffyBackups /Volumes/FluffyBackups/

Merge the directories:

ditto ~/Pictures/Fall2015/ /Volumes/PhotoBackup/2015/

Show system temps using CLI

Use powermetrics:

sudo powermetrics --samplers smc

On my Intel MacBook Pro:

sudo powermetrics --samplers smc
Password:
Machine model: MacBookPro16,1
SMC version: Unknown
EFI version: 2069.3.0
OS version: 24D70
Boot arguments:
Boot time: Thu Feb 20 08:26:07 2025

*** Sampled system activity (Thu Mar 13 10:16:36 2025 -0700) (5006.14ms elapsed) ***

**** SMC sensors ****

CPU Thermal level: 66
GPU Thermal level: 16
IO Thermal level: 16
Fan: 2942.43 rpm
CPU die temperature: 76.93 C
GPU die temperature: 71.00 C
CPU Plimit: 0.00
GPU Plimit (Int): 0.00
Number of prochots: 0

Networking

Use ifconfig to show interfaces:

ifconfig

Show Routes:

netstat -rn