• Macos Bash Profile
• Macos App Icon
• Macos Icon File

Jul 16, 2014  Before you get into the steps of how to change a Mac app icon, you obviously need to have a new icon chosen and ready to use. MacOS uses.icns files for application icons, and it’s best to stick with this format if possible, as an.icns file contains multiple sizes of an icon for various uses. If you are using a different file type, such as. Jul 22, 2014  Now click once on the app’s icon in the top left corner of the Info panel to highlight it. Next, press ⌘C on the keyboard – this will copy the icon’s graphics to the system clipboard. Step 3: Launch the stock Preview app from your Dock. If it’s not in the Dock, use the Spotlight icon in the upper right corner of the Mac’s menubar. After that, you can very easily add a custom icon to the app if you want to. Adding a custom app icon. Create an.icns file or a 512×512 PNG image with the icon you want, and copy it to the clipboard (⌘ + C). (Alternatively, copy it from an existing app as described in steps 2 and 3.) Right-click the.app file of which you want to change the. Sep 05, 2018  Here are 5 free app icon generator apps for macOS to generate app icons from PNG, JPG, SVG, Webp images.These tools can quickly generate app icons for iPhone, iPAD, iOS Universal, macOS, tvOS, Android, and watchOS apps. They just take an image from you and then help you generate the app icon. Apr 08, 2013  How to Add Emoji to Bash Prompt in Mac OS Terminal. Here’s how to add an emoji icon as the command line prompt: Open Terminal app and use your preferred command line text editor to modify the.bashprofile file: nano.bashprofile. Add a new line like the following: PS1=' '. In the Terminal app on your Mac, in the window running the shell process you want to quit, type exit, then press Return. This ensures that commands actively running in the shell are closed. If anything’s still in progress, a dialog appears. If you want to change the shell exit behavior, see Change. Mar 16, 2015  One of the best ways to customize your Mac and make it your own is to change your app and folder icons. With just a few simple changes, you can have things uniquely your own. There are a lot of different icons you can change in OS X. The easiest ones to change are your applications and folders but, we warn you, it can be habit forming.

macOS Catalina has a number of new features and capabilities, but one change that’s often overlooked is the new shell used in Terminal to interact with the Mac via the command line.

The quick take away is Apple is moving from the Bash (Bourne Again Shell) to a newer Zsh. In this Rocket Yard guide, we’ll look at how this change to Terminal and the command line affects you.

What is a Shell?

At the simplest level, a shell is a program that allows you to control a computer, in this case, a Mac, using commands you enter with the keyboard. Shells are usually interactive text-based interfaces that accept commands and present the results. There are a number of different shells you can use, but if you’re wondering why anyone would want to use a shell and a command line to control a computer, you need to take a trip back in time to the dawn of the computer age.

In those early days, controlling a computer was a daunting task that could require you to manually load memory locations, one at a time, with the data that would eventually be run as a program. In some cases, this was done by setting a row of switches that represented a memory location address, and then loading data into the memory with another set of switches. This process was labor-intensive and prone to errors.

In many cases, the manually loaded program was for a boot loader that allowed the computer to accept input from a paper tape reader.

Once the paper tape reader was operational, you could load a shell program that allowed a Teletype to be used as a command line interface. Ah, those were the days.

Using a shell and a command line was a lot easier for working with a computer than rows and rows of toggle switches.

OK, so the shell was a big improvement back then, but why is it still used today with modern computers?

The Shell and the Mac

The Mac makes use of a UNIX-like operating system. And like most Unix or Linux based systems, the command line interface is one of the key methods for interacting with the operating system. The Mac (and many UNIX and Linux systems) also features a graphical user interface to make working with the computer even easier. But the command line still exists, and for working with core components of the operating system it can be very versatile, providing more capabilities than what is available in the GUI (Graphical User Interface).

The shell controls how the command line is presented to the user and what features the command line supports. Most shells offer the following to some degree or other:

• Shell Syntax: How the shell understands what you enter.
• Shell Commands: The actual commands the shell can execute.
• Shell Functions: The ability to group commands together.
• Shell Parameters: How and where the shell stores values.
• Shell Expansion: How parameters in a command are expanded
• Redirect: Controls the input and output of commands.
• Command Execution: What happens when commands are run.
• Shell Scripts: The ability to run a file containing multiple shell commands.

Why is Apple Changing the Shell?

Apple is changing from the Bash shell to the Zsh (Z Shell). They haven’t said specifically why the change is occurring, but we can make some educated guesses.

Apple has been using the Bash shell since OS X Jaguar but hasn’t updated Bash since version 3.2 was released in 2007. To put that in perspective, the version of Bash used on your Mac was new when the first iPhone was introduced.

Apple is likely using the older version because the licensing for the Bash shell changed from GNU GPL 2 (General Public License) to GNU GPLv3, which includes restrictions that could cause problems for Apple.

Apple muddled along with the older version for quite a few years, but really, it’s time to move on to something more current.

The Zsh included with macOS Catalina is version 5.7.1 and is the most current version at the time of Catalina’s release. It is also uses a less restrictive MIT license that is more to Apple’s liking.

Note: Although Apple is changing to the Zsh in macOS Catalina, when running in Recovery Mode, the Bash shell is still used when you use the Terminal app.

Am I Forced to Change the Shell?

Yes, and no. Apple will set the Zsh as the default for any new user account that is created in macOS Catalina or later. If you upgraded your Mac from an earlier version of the macOS, then those existing user accounts are still using the Bash shell.

You are, however, free to upgrade all accounts to Zsh, or downgrade an account to Bash (or for that matter, to any shell you wish to use).

How Different is Zsh?

Not very; Bash and Zsh have a very high level of compatibility between them. Both are based on the older Bourne shell. It’s likely most Bash commands and scripts you may be using will run just fine under the Zsh.

The real advantage to the Zsh is the modern features it includes that make working with the shell very easy. This includes auto complete of command entries, and spell checking, a favorite of mine since I often make a typo in a command that Bash would just let go through and then chide me about there being no such command, while Zsh offers to make a correction to my command for me.

For the fumble-fingered like me, that’s reason enough to change to the Zsh.

What About All My Bash Scripts?

They should run fine; if you do come across a script with issues caused by the shell, you can either take the time to upgrade the script, or simply add a Shebang (#!) to force the script to use the Bash shell that is still included with the macOS:

Add the following at the beginning of your Bash scripts to ensure compatibility:

#!/bin/bash

How to Temporarily Change Shells

Zsh has been included with the macOS for quite a while; it just was never the default before. If you would like to temporarily try out the Zsh, do the following:

Launch Terminal, located at /Applications/Utilities.

At the Terminal command prompt, enter:

zsh

Hit enter or return.

The shell being used in the current Terminal session will change to the Zsh and the command prompt will change to a percent sign (%).

You can return to the bash shell by either quitting Terminal, or at the prompt enter:

bash

Hit enter or return.

You can discover more about the Terminal app in the Rocket Yard guide:

Tech 101: Introduction to the Mac’s Terminal App, Part One

Change The Default Shell to Use

No matter which shell Apple sets for you as the default, you can change it with one of two methods:

From the Terminal command line, enter:

chsh -s /bin/zsh

What makes it different from its previous version is the fact that it is integrated with Google Play Store and this makes it easier to download apps from Google Play Store. Nox app player shared folder mac version. Advertisement:Player 5 is filled with loads of features.

or

Macos Bash Profile

chsh -s /bin/bash

Depending on whether you wish to set Zsh or Bash as the default.

Hit enter or return.

You can also set the default shell using System Preferences:

• Launch System Preferences, and select the Users & Groups preference pane.
• Click on the Lock icon in the bottom left corner, then supply your administrator password when requested.
• Right-click on the user account in the sidebar whose default shell you wish to change. From the popup menu, select Advanced Options.
• Locate the item labeled Login shell.
• Use the dropdown menu to select one of the available shells.

Note: macOS Catalina does not include an entry in the dropdown menu for Bash. Instead, enter /bin/bash directly in the Login shell item.

Click the OK button when ready.

What About the Warning Message to Change to Zsh?

If you have Bash set as the default and you launch Terminal or open a new Terminal session, you will see the following message:

The default interactive shell is now zsh. To update your account to zsh, please run chsh -s /bin/zsh.

If you intend to keep using Bash you can remove this message by entering the following at the command prompt:

export BASH_SILENCE_DEPRECATION_WARNING=1

Hit enter or return.

Shell Documentation

It’s beyond the scope of this single article to tell you about the various capabilities of each shell. To do so would really require a book, or two. If you would like to discover more about the Bash and Zsh, you can check out the online documentation about each.

• Z Shell information
• Bash information

Do you use the Terminal app often? And if so, what shell do you prefer to use? Let us know in the comments below.

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Macos App Icon

Very often, in OS X, when one has a terminal command that needs to be used often, it's convenient to turn that UNIX command into a double-clickable desktop file with a recognizable icon. How can that possibly be done? I'll show you how.

OS X is based on BSD UNIX

Here's the basic outline of this tip.

1. Create a UNIX script with a text editor that contains one or more terminal commands.
2. Make it executable.
3. Double click it in the Finder.

It's really quite simple, but there are a few things to be aware of. I'll walk you through it and add some notes as needed.

I. Create a script. UNIX scripts are similar to AppleScript. There are commands and a syntax. From time to time you'll see articles that show how to change an OS X preference from the command line. For example, you may have seen this terminal command that strips the drop shadow from your screenshots:

Note #1. The Terminal app location is /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app

Scripts are a sequence of commands, managed by the scripting language, to a achieve a task. The easiest way to write a script is to use a text editor, like OS X's built-in TextEdit, found in the Applications folder.

Note #2. Make sure the Preferences for TextEdit are set correctly. Preferences > New Document > Plain text. Once set, relaunch TextEdit.

Here's a simple script that uses the 'uptime' command to display how long it's been since your Mac was rebooted.

Note #3. The first line tells OS X to use the Bash scripting language. There are several to chose from. We won't dig into that here.

Copy and paste this script into a new TextEdit file. Call it 'ByYourCommand.txt' Save this file on your desktop.

II. Make the Script Executable.

1. In the Finder, delete the file extension '.txt' The Finder will ask for confirmation.

2. Open the Terminal app and navigate to the file. Substitute your own login name instead of mine. Like this:

3. Still in the terminal, execute this UNIX command:

Note #4. This UNIX command makes the file executable, that is, double-clickable.

Macos Icon File

Note #5. If you have antivirus software installed, it may object, depending on its preferences, to an executable script being inserted into a file that was created by an OS X text editor. Just ignore the warning.

At this point, you'll notice that the file's icon has changed to this:

III. Double click the file 'ByYourCommand' on the desktop. The Terminal app will launch, the script will be executed, and you'll see the results, like this:

Uptime: one day, 21 h since my last reboot.

If you need to edit the script, you'll have to add the '.txt' extension back. (Or, as the geeks will point out, edit with a UNIX editor like vi. I had to say that.)

This is as far as we'll go with a one line command. Once you get the hang of this and learn a whole lot more, you'll find yourself happily creating your own custom scripts—if you decide to learn Bash or one of the other UNIX shells available. A new door is open to create your own scripts, but you should, of course, learn much more about UNIX and scripting before you go wild with this newfound superpower. A really careless act could render your OS X corrupted and/or unbootable.