macOS Terminal and shell - Armin Briegel

macOS Terminal and shell

By Armin Briegel

  • Release Date: 2021-03-01
  • Genre: Computers
Score: 4
4
From 21 Ratings

Description

All of my other books so far, have this sentence:

“You should be comfortable with using Terminal on macOS.”

This is the book that helps you get comfortable with Terminal and shell on macOS.

The book covers the new default shell zsh, but also bash, on macOS versions up to and including macOS 11 Big Sur.

This book will teach you to use Terminal and the shell on macOS. It starts with an introduction to the command line, the terminology, its history and concepts. Then we examine macOS, its file systems, and shells (sh, bash and zsh) in detail. We learn how to configure the Terminal application and zsh to work more productively. This is a great entry book for technical minded users new to the command line, but also a great reference for experienced users.

While my experience as a Mac system administrator has certainly influenced the book, it is relevant for all users who need to or want to learn using Terminal and the shell, such as developers, scientists and “pro” users in general.

Table of contents:

Shell Primer

· Why use Terminal?

· First Steps in the Shell

· Navigating the File System

· Special Characters

· Commands

· Managing Files

Users and Groups

· Users

· Groups

· User Account Types

· The sudo Command

Processes and Pipes

· Processes

· Output Redirection

· Pipes

Files and File Systems

· Links

· File Permissions

· Special Attributes

· macOS File System Layout

· macOS File System Protections

Configuring the shell

· Configuration Files

· Shell History

· Auto-Completion

· Custom Prompt

· Installing and using Command Line Tools

macOS Terminal

· Editing the Current Command

· Terminal-Finder Interaction

· Terminal Profiles

Reviews

  • macOS Terminal and shell

    5
    By Thedude abide me you will
    The author starts with a foundation of the terminal and then build opon layers on top where objects learned earlier are applied and things get more elaborate. Recommend Armin’s books and the blog for every Mac Admin. The book (as well as others from Armin) are well written.
  • Think you know macOS Terminal?

    5
    By Lloyd Dobler 11
    Not until you read this book. Was sold after reading just the sample pages and realizing I didn’t know how much I didn’t know. Approaching 200 pages in and the facepalm moments and “try this” notes I’ve tagged throughout are too many to count. Love his blog, and appreciate all the free education Armin provides the world. Bought ALL of his Apple Books last week as a way of giving back - of course also with the intention of reading every page of every one of them. Thank You, Armin!
  • Excellent, as are all of Armin’s books

    5
    By Bruce Carter
    This is an excellent primer and reference on using the Terminal and shell scripting on macOS. I own and recommend all of Armin’s books, along with his blog and weekly newsletter. They are all valuable resources for the Apple ecoverse administrator/engineer.
  • Excellent primer on macOS Terminal and shell

    5
    By Dan K. Snelson
    For beginners and “seasoned” Mac Admins alike, Armin combines detailed explanations with real-world examples to help everyone increase their comfort level and productivity with Terminal and shell.
  • Excellent Information for macOS Administrators

    5
    By atomargyle
    I’ve been administering macOS systems for quite some time, and I spend a lot of time in terminal and writing bash scripts. I have found so much new information in this book to help me understand how and why things happen, as well as details I wasn’t aware of to streamline workflows and scripts I’ve implemented. I highly reccomend this to any mac admin, even if you’re somewhat well versed you will find things to refer to and details ou may not have been aware of.