#Mac command line list disks how to#

The current directory (the вЂњworking directoryвЂќ) when you open Terminal always defaults to your Home Folder.Д«efore we describe how to check and terminate a process on your computer itвЂ™s worth knowing a few basic Terminal commands. The command prompt always begins with your computer name followed by your local Account Name. The second line is the command promptВ which is where you enter the commands you wish to execute. The first line shows the date and time when you last logged in. Once it opens youвЂ™ll be presented with a standard Terminal window as below.

Terminal is always represented by the icon below. The first step is to open Terminal either from the Applications -> Utilities folder or simply type Terminal into Spotlight. The Activity Monitor Application How to Use Terminal Note that process IDвЂ™s are assigned by Mac OS, and therefore will not be the same on your computer as somebody elseвЂ™s. The Apple Mail application is displayed in Activity Monitor with a PID number of 14649.

From here you can inspect or quit each process, but in this example we use Activity Monitor simply as a companion to Terminal. The main Activity Monitor window is shown below.Д®ach application on your Mac has an associated Process IDВ (a PID) and a user-friendly name. When used together, Activity Monitor and Terminal provide a powerful yet relatively straightforward way to inspect and manage wayward processes. Activity Monitor shows common process-related details such as the memory used and percentage of CPU that each process is consuming. Terminal is a text-based tool which lets you conduct all manner of routine tasks such as viewing directories, copying, moving and deleting files, as well as obtain detailed information about each process running including:ДЄ related indispensable application is Activity Monitor вЂ“В a graphical tool that allows you to manage processes, however it doesnвЂ™t have quite the same capabilities that Terminal does.

#Mac command line list disks mac os x#

Probably the most useful tool to check and kill processes is called Terminal, which is an application that provides access to the lower levels of the Mac OS X operating system and files.