Amaya Toman History under control: search for older commands (Ctrl + R)
Do you often repeat similar operations? You don't have to remember long strings or use the up arrow keys to return. Just press Control + R and start typing any part of the command. Terminal immediately searches for matching entries in the history. When the one you are looking for appears, just press Enter and the command is executed immediately. This is useful, for example, when working with longer options or repeated server queries.
terminal delete command history
Make the Terminal your own space – change the look
If you spend a lot of time in Terminal, it's a shame to leave its environment at factory settings. macOS offers surprisingly rich visual editing options:
- In the top menu, click Terminal → Settings.
- Open the Profiles tab.
- Choose a color scheme, adjust the font type, cursor color, background, and possibly even the transparency of the window.
You can set a finished profile as the default so that every new window opens exactly the way you want it to – miniminimalist, contrasting or retro "green screen".
Terminal appearance change
Fast file downloads using curl
You don't have to keep switching to the browser when you have a direct link to the file.
- Move to the destination folder, for example: cd ~/Downloads
- Start the download with: curl -O https://example.com/file.zip
The curl -O command will save the file right where you are standing. This is especially useful when working with repositories, scripts, or packages that you need to download quickly and without clicking.
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A bit of fun in the command line: ASCII art using banner
The terminal doesn't necessarily have to be just about work. macOS contains a command that can create large inscriptions from characters - ideal for adding flair to scripts or just for fun.
- For example, try: banner -w 80 Hello
The -w parameter specifies the width of the resulting text in characters, and you can of course change "Hello" to whatever you want to display. The terminal will then render the word as an "ASCII poster" of various symbols.
