Open up the Terminal by going to Applications Utilities Terminal; In the terminal, use the following command to start the key generation; ssh-keygen -t rsa. Next, you will be prompted to provide the location where you want to create the private key file. Macuser: ssh-keygen -t rsa. May 15, 2018 How to Open a Terminal Window in Mac. This wikiHow teaches you how to open the Terminal utility on Mac, which provides Mac users with a way to access and adjust settings of the operating system with text-based commands.
- How To Open Amped Keygen In Terminal On A Mac Os
- How To Open Amped Keygen In Terminal On A Mac Computer
If you work on Macs for a reasonably long time, eventually you will encounter problems which require the Terminal app. In its core, macOS is a UNIX system, and some troubleshooting requires doing things that are not available from GUI (graphical user interface).
I know that for non-technical folks Terminal sounds too intimidating. Do not fear, though, coz I’ll teach you how to use Terminal as a pro in less than 10 minutes.
There are multiple ways to open Terminal on Mac, and the best approach is to open it with Spotlight Search. Press Command (⌘) key and hit the Space bar. In the Spotlight Search bar type “terminal” and hit Enter. This will open Terminal in the current user directory.
I know that a smart reader like you would count the keystrokes and say: “Hey, Al, I have to hit the keyboard 11 times. You promised 4. What happened?”
Well, first, if you hit Command and Space bar, and then type just “t” it is possible that autocomplete function in Spotlight will display Terminal and all you need to hit Enter to start the app. And second, we’re not there yet. We still have some hacks to learn.
I promised, and I will deliver. But now, let’s answer the question that many people ask.
How to open Terminal in the current directory?
Let’s assume you were working with the Finder. Finder is the built-in app which allows users to browse disks and folders on Mac. If you not familiar with the Finder or need a refresher read my post about it:
For instance, I created three folders in my Desktop: TestFolder1, TestFolder2, and ScreenShots. And I want to open the Terminal in TestFolder1 directory.
The first approach is to open a Terminal, type cd, and hit Space. Then drag the folder to the Terminal window. This will paste the full path of the folder in the Terminal app. Now if you hit Enter, the current directory will change to TestFolder1.
This technique is also useful when you need to work with the file. For instance, if I had a text file TestFile.txt on the Desktop and I want to open it with built-in nano editor all I need to do is type “nano” and then drag the file to the Terminal window.
However, there is a better way to open the current directory.
- Select the folder you want to open in the Finder.
- Click on Finder menu and scroll to Services item.
- When Services item expands click on New Terminal at Folder.
And this, my dear reader, is how you open the Terminal on Mac in 3 clicks: tap on the folder, click on Finder menu and tap on New Terminal item.
But, what if you don’t see New Terminal option in Services menu? There are two possible reasons for this.
Reason 1. The options were not configured yet. To enable both “New Terminal at Folder” and “New Terminal tab at Folder” go to Finder menu, scroll to Services, and then scroll all the way to the bottom and tap on “Services Preferences.”
Make sure the Shortcuts tab is selected at the top of the pop-up window and click on Services item in the left pane. Scroll and find both options under Files and Folders section in the right pane. Make sure that both options are checked.
How to set a shortcut to open Terminal on Mac
After enabling both “New Terminal at Folder” and “New Terminal tab at Folder” options in the Service Preferences add command shortcuts. By default, the shortcut is none.
Click on “New Terminal at Folder” option and the label will change to Add Shortcut. Tap on Add Shortcut label.
With your left hand press Control, Option (Alt) and Command buttons and hold. Then with the right hand, tap on T key and release all keys.
Now, select any folder in the Finder and use newly created Control+Option+Command+T key combination. This is how you will open a Terminal app in the selected directory in 4 keystrokes!
Here’s the second reason why the New Terminal option is not available in Services (and the key combination isn’t working) – Finder does not allow Services on items in the Sidebar (left pane). So, if you want to open Terminal app in Desktop folder from the Finder’s sidebar, it will not work.
But I happened to know a workaround for this issue. Right-click on the sidebar item, e.g., Downloads or Desktop, and in the context menu select “Show in Enclosing Folder.” Using this feature will reveal the folder in the right pane of the Finder.
Now, you can use Control+Option+Command+T key combination (or Finder->Services menu) to open the Terminal.
How to open Finder from Terminal
But how about the opposite? What if I’ve been switching directories in the Terminal and now I want to reveal my current directory in the Finder app?
It’s super easy. Use open command followed by the directory name. There is a shortcut for the current directory in macOS – a dot symbol. So, to open the current directory in the Finder type “open .“, like this:
Basic navigation commands in Terminal
Since you are planning to use the command line, you need to know some basic commands. There are many commands, but all you need is only three.
PWD
The first command is PWD, which stands for Print Working Directory. If you type it, the command will print the full path of the current folder, so you will never get lost. By the way, all commands are case-insensitive. It means it doesn’t matter if you type pwd or PWD; the result will be the same.
LS
This command will list the current directory contents. So, if you want to know which files and directories locate under the current folder, use this command.
CD
Next command is CD which stands for Change Directory. Before using this command, you have to know the difference between the relative and absolute paths. If the path of the folder in the command starts with slash ‘/’ then it’s an absolute path, i.e., it starts from the root.
Otherwise, the path is relative, i.e., relative to the current folder.
Examples:
cd Desktop will change the current directory to the Desktop folder located in the current directory. If the current directory does not contain Desktop, the result would be an error “No such file or directory.”
cd /Library will change the current directory to Library folder under root (in macOS startup disk level).
There are three handy shortcuts for folder names.
One we already know – ‘.’ is for the current directory. Another one is ‘..’ – two dots. It’s a parent folder. So, if you want to go up in directory tree hierarchy type:
cd ..
Don’t forget the space between cd and dots.
The third shortcut is ‘~’ – tilde, which is used for the home directory. In macOS, it’s /Users/user_name folder (your user folder). So, if you need to go back to home folder type:
cd ~
Using auto-complete in Terminal
Since now you are almost a command line expert, it’s time for a neat productivity hack.
Let’s enable the autocomplete feature:
- Open the Terminal app
- Type nano ~/.inputrc
- Paste the following on separate lines
set completion-ignore-case on
set show-all-if-ambiguous on
TAB: menu-complete
- Hit Control+O to save changes to the file
- Hit Control+X to exit nano
- Hit Command+Q to close the program
Open a new Terminal window and type:
CD
Hit the Space bar
Now, if you hit the Tab key, the Terminal will show the directory or file name located in the current folder. You can also type the first few characters and hit Tab for auto-complete. Every time you hit Tab, the app will rotate and display the next possible directory or file.
This feature is super useful to increase speed when working with directories and reduce spelling mistakes.
Terminal customization
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the default app theme: black text on a white background. Fortunately, it is easy to change the look and feel of the program.
- Start Terminal
- Goto Terminal menu and click on Preferences
- Click on the Profile tab and select the one you like. I like Pro.
- Click on Default button.
- Close the Preferences window.
- Close the Terminal.
- Start Terminal again with the new profile.
Other ways to open Terminal
As I mentioned earlier, there are multiple ways to open the Terminal. I already described the best ways to do it, but here I want to go over the other options quickly.
Open from Dock
When Terminal is open its icon will appear in the Dock (a bar with all icons usually at the bottom of the screen). Right-click on the app’s icon and in the context menu, click on “Keep in the Dock” option.
From now on, you can open Terminal with one click on the icon.
Open from Finder
- Start Finder
- Click on Applications folder in the Sidebar
- Scroll to Terminal app under the Utilities folder
- Double click on Terminal .app
Now, you know where Terminal is on Mac: in ApplicationsUtilities folder.
Open on Start
If you want the Terminal app to start as soon as you log in, there is a solution for that too.
- Open System Preferences
- Tap on Users & Groups pane
- Click on the Login Items tab
- Click on the plus icon
- In the open file, dialog locate the app the same way we did in the previous paragraph
Next time, you log in or restart MacBook the Terminal app will start automatically.
Another way opening from Finder
- Start the Finder app
- Click on Go menu
- Scroll to and click on Utilities item
- Find the Terminal in the folder and start it
From Launchpad
Macs have a special place to launch their apps: Launchpad (an icon with rocket picture).
- Click on Launchpad
- Click on Other pane
- Click on Terminal
Bonus
That’s all you need to know to become an expert in Terminal.
In the end, I want you to have some fun and watch a Star War movie. Start the Terminal and paste the following:
telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
Enjoy!
Topics:
Tutorial
Introduction
When setting up a remote Linux server, you’ll need to decide upon a method for securely connecting to it. While passwords are one way of verifying a user’s identity, passwords have multiple vulnerabilities and can be cracked by a brute force attack. Secure Shell keys — better known as SSH keys — are often used instead of passwords, as they offer a more secure method of connecting to remote Linux servers. As part of the Secure Shell cryptographic network protocol, SSH keys also enable users to securely perform network services over an unsecured network, such as delivering text-based commands to a remote server or configuring its services.
This tutorial will guide you through the steps of creating SSH keys with OpenSSH, a suite of open source SSH tools, on macOS and Linux, as well as on Windows through the use of the Windows Subsystem for Linux. It is written for an audience that is just getting started with the command line and will provide guidance on accessing the terminal on a personal computer. After completing this tutorial, you will have SSH keys that can be used to securely set up a server in the tutorial How To Set Up an Ubuntu 20.04 Server on a DigitalOcean Droplet that is part of the Introduction to the Cloud Curriculum.
If you are already familiar with the command line and looking for instructions on using SSH to connect to a remote server, please see our collection of tutorials on Setting Up SSH Keys for a range of Linux operating systems.
Prerequisites
To complete this tutorial, you will need:
- A local machine running one of the following operating systems: macOS, Linux, or Windows with Windows Subsystem for Linux installed. If you are using Windows, you can find instructions for downloading or updating the Windows Subsystem for Linux on Microsoft’s documentation page. Note that while OpenSSH should work for a range of Linux distributions, this tutorial has been tested using Ubuntu 20.04.
Note: If you are looking for instructions on how to create SSH keys on a Windows machine that does not have the Windows Subsystem for Linux, please visit our product documentation How to Create SSH Keys with PuTTY on Windows.
- Some familiarity with working with a terminal and the command line. If you need an introduction to working with terminals and the command line, you can visit our guide A Linux Command Line Primer.
Step 1 — Understanding SSH Keys
SSH keys are two long strings of characters that can be used to authenticate the identity of a user requesting access to a remote server. These keys are generated by the user on their local computer using a SSH utility. One key is private and stored on the user’s local machine. The other key is public and shared with the remote server or any other entity the user wishes to securely communicate with.
When a user requests to connect to a server with SSH, the server sends a message encrypted with the public key that can only be decrypted by the associated private key. The user’s local machine then uses its private key to attempt to decrypt the message. If the message is successfully decrypted, the server grants the user access without the need of a password. Once authenticated, users can launch a remote shell session in their local terminal to deliver text-based commands to the remote server.
In the next step, you will open a terminal on your computer so that you can access the SSH utility used to generate a pair of SSH keys.
Step 2 — Opening a Terminal on Your Computer
A terminal allows you to interact with your computer through text-based commands rather than a graphical user interface. The way you access the terminal on your computer will depend on what type of operating system you are using.
On machines running macOS, the Terminal application is typically located in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder. You can also find it by searching for “terminal” in the Search Spotlight.
If you are working on a Linux computer, your distribution’s default terminal application is also typically located in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder. You can also find it by searching for “terminal” with the Desktop search functionality.
If you are working on a Windows machine running Windows Subsystem for Linux, a Linux terminal should open immediately after installation. You can also find it by searching for “Ubuntu” with the Desktop search functionality.
Once you have located your system’s terminal application, open up a new terminal window. Your terminal should display your user name, a dollar sign ($), and a cursor. This is where you will begin to type commands to tell the terminal what to do.
In the next step, you will enter a text-based command to generate a pair of SSH keys.
Step 3 — Generating Keys With OpenSSH
Your macOS or Linux operating system should have the standard OpenSSH suite of tools already installed. This suite of tools includes the utility ssh-keygen, which you will use to generate a pair of SSH keys.
Type the following command into your terminal:
You will then be prompted to select a location for the keys. By default, the keys are stored in the ~/.ssh directory with the filenames id_rsa for the private key and id_rsa.pub for the public key. Using the default locations allows your SSH client to automatically find your SSH keys when authenticating, so we recommend accepting these default options. To do so, press ENTER:
Warning: If you have previously generated a key pair, you will be prompted to confirm that you actually want to overwrite the existing key:
If you choose to overwrite the key on disk, you will not be able to authenticate using the previous key anymore. Selecting “yes” is an irreversible destructive process.
If you’re certain that you want to overwrite the existing key on disk, you can do so by pressing Y and then ENTER.
If you choose the default location, your public key will be located in /home/sammy/.ssh/id_rsa.pub and your private key will be located in /home/sammy/.ssh/id_rsa. Note that in your filepath, sammy will be replaced with your username.
After selecting a location for the key, you’ll be prompted to enter an optional passphrase which encrypts the private key file on disk.
If you enter a passphrase, you will have to provide it every time you use this key (unless you are running SSH agent software that stores the decrypted key). We recommend using a passphrase, but you can just press ENTER to bypass this prompt:
Following that final prompt, your system will generate the SSH key pair:
You now have a public and private key that you can use to authenticate.
Conclusion
How To Open Amped Keygen In Terminal On A Mac Os
Congratulations, you have now generated a pair of SSH keys. These keys can be used to securely connect with a remote server and are necessary for the tutorial How To Set Up an Ubuntu 20.04 Server on a DigitalOcean Droplet that follows this tutorial in the Introduction to the Cloud Curriculum.
How To Open Amped Keygen In Terminal On A Mac Computer
For a deeper dive on working using SSH, please visit our guide SSH Essentials: Working With SSH Servers, Clients, and Keys.