Mac terminal change directory to external drive. See full list on macmyths.

Mac terminal change directory to external drive. Sep 28, 2017 · Type “cd /Volumes” at the Terminal window’s command prompt, and then press the “Return” key to switch to the directory of your Mac’s mounted volumes, including the startup drive, internal and external hard drives, USB flash drives, CDs and DVDs. Jan 14, 2019 · Based on your question it appears the problem you're having is related to the use of ~ in the external drive file path in the terminal commands you're trying to use. Sep 16, 2014 · And here is my take on it: Attach external drive Copy your Documents folder from your Mac to the external drive Rename the Documents folder on the Mac to Documents-old Open Terminal Type in cd /Users/Your User ID/ Then ln -s /Volumes/External Drive Name/Documents Documents Aug 5, 2025 · Summary: This tutorial shows you how to change permissions on Mac for files, folders, apps, and external hard drives with Finder or using Terminal. . The trick is knowing the name of the drive and where it is located. Oct 13, 2018 · How to copy files to flash drive using mac terminal Hi, so I've been having trouble copying files to a external drive and someone suggested that I try using the terminal to see does that work. See full list on macmyths. You can also find the path using the mount command and enter that after cd. Sep 3, 2024 · Mounting an external hard drive on a Mac using Terminal may initially seem daunting, but the steps outlined above can make the process straightforward. Basically, the tilde symbol (~) in macOS command line usage refers to your home directory, e. How do I change into the directory of my thumbdrive? I've been poking around and see that this command, diskutil list, lists all my local disks. What do you mean by change drives? If you mean changing directory so that you can use the files on an external drive, they're mounted in /Volumes, so if you wanted to work in the root of a disk called Foo, you'd go cd /Volumes/Foo. That produces this: David-Adamss-MacBook-Pro:~ david Jun 9, 2020 · I'm trying to copy the entire Documents folder from a Mac to an external USB drive using the terminal. To change to ~/Desktop/sass/css: cd ~/Desktop/sass/css. g /Users/Veronique. Whether you see "mkdir: /data: read-only file system" in Terminal or simply a "You can only read" message in your Finder, it can be a real roadblock. com To check that the file you're trying to open actually exists, you can change directories in terminal using cd. Aug 5, 2025 · This can happen on your Mac's internal drive, external hard drive, or even a shared folder. Sep 21, 2019 · Here is how to cd (change directory) into an external drive using Terminal on Mac computers. Apr 12, 2012 · Easiest way is to type the command cd followed by a space, then drag the icon for the external onto the Terminal window, then hit the return key. Whether you’re addressing disk permission issues, file system errors, or seeking to force mount a drive, this guide provides multiple methods to tackle these problems effectively. Besides, it offers efficient solutions for you if you can't change the file or folder permissions on Mac. I'm using the Terminal because the machine will not load any users (it just shows Other) and the Documents directory is the only thing I need before reinstalling. ubxvgw jzpu fvunnuc djxirh wazxwe ttsn iokcxhh zaucuhm mtsyf qvdfct