Advantages of the Command Line

If you have never used the command-line interface, or have only used it briefly, you may not understand why you would want to use it. Like switching from using an automatic transmission to a manual one, you'll need some time to get used to it. Once you're comfortable with it, you will find that the command-line interface has some strong advantages.

Advanced Configuration or Features

The command line provides additional advanced commands to complement the graphical interface. And, in those cases where there is a graphical equivalent to a shell command, the shell command usually has additional options or features.

Running a Command as a Different User

The command line allows you to execute commands as a user other than your current login identity. For example, in the Finder, if you need to change permissions on a file that you do not own, you would need to log in as the owner of the file, change the permissions, and log out. With the command line, you can execute the command to change permissions using root access, without the need to log in as the root account.

Efficiency

Even when the same features are available in native Mac OS X applications and the command-line interface, the command-line interface can be more efficient, because you can combine commands. For example, if you want to use the Finder to change permissions for all files of a particular type, such as PDF files, you would have to manually select each of the files, open the Info window, and set the permissions. The same task in the shell can be done with one command:

chmod o+rw *.pdf

Remote Administration and Troubleshooting

You can run shell commands remotely without needing any additional software. In order to control the graphical interface remotely, you need to use special software such as Apple Remote Desktop or a VNC client application. However, any computer that has a terminal-style application or UNIX-style command-line interface can be used to send shell commands to a Mac OS X computer.