MacOS

MacBook Quick Guide for Network Engineers & DevOps

This guide provides essential macOS shortcuts, terminal commands, and operations specifically useful for **Network Engineers & DevOps professionals**.

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
**Copy**	⌘ + C
**Paste**	⌘ + V
**Cut**	⌘ + X
**Undo**	⌘ + Z
**Redo**	⌘ + Shift + Z
**Select All**	⌘ + A
**Open Terminal**	⌘ + Space → type Terminal
**New Terminal Window**	⌘ + N (in Terminal)
**New Terminal Tab**	⌘ + T (in Terminal)
**Close Tab**	⌘ + W
**Force Quit an App**	⌘ + Option + Esc
**Switch Between Open Apps**	⌘ + Tab
**Show All Open Windows (Mission Control)**	Control + ↑
**Switch Between Desktops (Spaces)**	Control + → / Control + ←

Useful Terminal Commands for Network Engineers

System Information

uname -a                  # Show system information
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType  # Detailed Mac hardware info
sw_vers                   # Show macOS version
uptime                    # Show system uptime

Network Diagnostics

ifconfig                  # Display network interfaces & IPs
netstat -rn               # Show routing table
dig example.com           # Query DNS records
nslookup example.com      # Perform DNS lookup
ping 8.8.8.8              # Test network connectivity
traceroute google.com     # Trace network path

SSH & Remote Access

ssh user@host             # SSH into a remote server
scp file.txt user@host:/path/  # Secure copy file to remote host
rsync -avz /source/ user@host:/dest/  # Sync files efficiently
ssh -L 5901:localhost:5901 user@host  # Create SSH tunnel

Network Monitoring & Packet Capture

tcpdump -i en0 port 22    # Capture SSH traffic on WiFi interface
sudo lsof -i :80          # List processes using port 80
sudo netstat -anp tcp     # Show active TCP connections
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache  # Flush DNS cache
arp -a                    # Show MAC-to-IP mappings

Get Serial Number

 system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | grep Serial

Get Hostname

 scutil --get HostName

Set Hostname

 sudo scutil --set HostName <new host name>

DevOps & Automation Commands

Git & Version Control

git status                # Check repo status
git pull                  # Fetch latest changes
git commit -m "message"   # Commit changes
git push origin main      # Push to remote repo

Docker & Kubernetes

docker ps                 # List running containers
docker logs container_id  # View container logs
kubectl get pods -A       # Show all Kubernetes pods
kubectl describe pod pod_name  # Detailed pod info

Terraform

terraform init            # Initialize Terraform
terraform plan            # Preview changes
terraform apply           # Deploy infrastructure
terraform destroy         # Tear down infrastructure

File System Commands

ls -lah                   # List files with details
cd /path/to/dir           # Change directory
mv oldname newname        # Rename/move files
cp file1 file2            # Copy files
rm -rf directory          # Force delete directory
find / -name "file.txt"   # Search for a file

Productivity Tricks

• **Three-finger swipe left/right** → Switch between desktops
• **Three-finger swipe up** → Open Mission Control
• **Pinch with thumb & three fingers** → Open Launchpad
• **Use Spotlight (`⌘ + Space`)** → Quickly find files, apps, or even do calculations

Pro Tip

• • Create an alias for frequent commands:**

Edit `~/.zshrc` and add:

alias ll='ls -lah'
alias k='kubectl'
alias tf='terraform'

Then run:

source ~/.zshrc

This saves time by shortening commands.