When you run this command, the utility will open, check for updates in the same manner as System Preferences, and then download and install them if any updates are found ( Figure A). Open Terminal and type the following command to check for, download, and install any available updates for your system: softwareupdate -i -a This command, when passed two options, both downloads and installs the updates.

To do this, I’ll utilize a command called softwareupdate. If you want to update your Mac remotely via SSH, or you don’t want to go through the steps to open System Preferences and perform the updates, your Mac can also be updated directly through the Terminal.

SEE: Windows, Linux, and Mac commands everyone needs to know (free PDF) (TechRepublic) How to update your Mac with the softwareupdate Terminal command You’ll type the commands into the Terminal and then press return to execute them. Find this application by opening the Finder and navigating to Applications | Utilities. To use these command-line tips, I utilize the Terminal application that ships with every copy of macOS–there’s nothing extra to install or download. Learn basic command-line tips that every Mac user and large businesses relying on and managing Macs should know. This makes it easier for IT teams to manage devices running macOS because personnel can log in via SSH and run commands remotely to do things like install software or update Macs. Under the hood, macOS X has a Unix shell that lets you runs powerful command-line utilities. For more info, visit our Terms of Use page. This may influence how and where their products appear on our site, but vendors cannot pay to influence the content of our reviews. We may be compensated by vendors who appear on this page through methods such as affiliate links or sponsored partnerships.

These are the basic macOS Terminal commands to know for updating a Mac, forcing an unresponsive Mac to shut down, finding the differences between files easily and much more. MacOS Terminal commands every Mac user should know

Mac terminal cheat sheet