MacOS

MacOS Terminal Command Bible
How to convert DMG to PKG Mac App for distribution

MacOS Terminal Command Bible

What do you want to do?	Command	Flags/Notes
Find out what a command does	[command]	-h
Shutdown/Restart	sudo shutdown -h now sudo shutdown -r now	-h -- HALT -r -- Restart
Download a File via Terminal	curl	-O -- <URL to the file>
Rename a macOS computer	scutil --set LocalHostName "NAME" scutil --set ComputerName "NAME" scutil --set HostName "NAME"	ComputerName is for a User-Friendly name that gets displayed, LocalHostName is for network-based identification (Bonjour, etc), and HostName is for SSH and terminal Changing Hostname will reset your Automate connection most likely. You must rename the LocalHostName and ComputerName in order for Automate to recognize the changes. Resend System Information from the Agent page, then refresh your cache to update. Update all three for consistency's sake.
Get a macOS computer name	scutil --get ComputerName scutil --get HostName
Show files in a specific directory	ls	-a -- list all directory contents (includes hidden) -l -- list detail information for each entry -la -- do both of the above in one flag -ld -- display permissions of a directory
Delete a file or directory	rm	-f -- Force -rf -- Recursively force USE WITH CAUTION
Run a command at Administrator level	sudo	Run before a command, may ask for a password. Use with caution. -i -- Persistent Always remember to log out of Sudo
Read the manual for a command	man	[command]
Find a file on the system	find
Make a directory or folder	mkdir
Copy a file or folder	cp
Move between folders	cd	[folder] i.e `cd /usr/local/bin` ~ -- home .. -- Up one directory
Find the directory I'm currently in	pwd
Move a file or folder	mv
Quickly read a text file in Terminal	cat
Run an application from Terminal	open
Get Ip configuration	ifconfig	-a -- Show All
Leave the terminal	exit
Find a running process	ps top lsof	-ax \| grep <appname> top is an interactive, constantly updating command lsof lists all open files, but every daemon, port and process is a file so… yeah it works here too
Kill a running process	kill <PID>	May need to be ran as root
Mark file as executable (to run scripts)	chmod +x filename.sh	chmod can be altered to have more granular permissions may need a "#!/bin/bash" or whatever shell it's using at the beginning
Add certificate to keychain	sudo security add-trusted-cert -d -r trustRoot -k /Library/Keychains/System.keychain /Location/Of/Certificate.cer	Mostly used for WatchGuard, there's a script that should be doing this automagically ((Mac) Install Client-Specific Watchguard Certificates)
Follow a file as it updates	tail	-f -- follow

Please keep in mind that all commands run through Automate run at root level authentication

https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/OpenSource/Conceptual/ShellScripting/CommandLInePrimer/CommandLine.html

Labtech installs into /usr/local/ltechagent/

Has an lttray daemon that you can find via 'launchctl list | grep labtech'

Runs two ltechagents and the lttray process that shows up in ps or top.

Location Shortcuts

/	Top level directory
.	Current directory
..	Parent directory
~	Home directory
/var/log/system.log	System log
/Library/logs	System application logs
~/Library/logs	User application logs

All Commands can be autocompleted by tapping the [TAB] key

How to convert DMG to PKG Mac App for distribution

https://www.hexnode.com/mobile-device-management/help/convert-dmg-to-pkg-mac/

DMG files or Disk Image files used to install software contain app files, installation files and other file types. They are usually used by macOS software installers downloaded from the internet.

PKG files are macOS installation packages containing installer scripts and compressed installation files used to install Mac software applications on a user hard drive.

The issue with DMG files is that it needs to be mounted as a virtual disk to push apps, whereas PKG files can be directly installed. Hence, it is ideal to convert DMG files to PKG files to push them through Hexnode. It’s a rather simple process that can be done with the help of the Terminal.

Terminal can create PKG files from DMG files and they can then be distributed via Hexnode as enterprise apps.

Note:

For using downloaded DMG files: Enable the “App Store and identified developers” option under Mac system preferences > Security and Privacy> Allow apps downloaded from.

PKG files can only be created from DMG files containing applications by using the Terminal.

Steps to convert macOS DMG files to PKG files.

Go to the folder that contains the DMG file.
Double click the DMG file. It gets mounted as a virtual disk and reveals its contents.
Copy the .app file to the Applications folder in the macOS device.

Eject the DMG file by clicking on the eject button.
Open Terminal.
Build the PKG file using the productbuild command

sudo productbuild --component /path_to_installedapp/macapp.app / path_to_savedpackage/packagename.pkg

The two arguments specify the location of the installed .app file (path_to_installedapp/macapp.app) and the location to create the PKG file (path_to_savedpackage/packagename.pkg), respectively.

Provide the device login password and wait for a few seconds for the build to finish.
The PKG file gets created at the desired location.

To distribute the created PKG files, check out Distribute macOS Enterprise App using Hexnode.

Note

Signing a PKG file is recommended to enforce corporate data security and ensure that the app in use is trustable, safe and malware-free. Check out How to sign pkg files for deployment.

The only red flag here is that not all apps are created similarly, which may affect the time required for the PKG build.