macOS Terminal Skill

Control macOS Terminal.app using AppleScript (osascript).

Opening Windows and Tabs

# New window (empty)
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to do script ""'

# New window running a command
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to do script "echo hello"'

# New tab in frontmost window (via System Events keystroke)
osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to tell process "Terminal" to keystroke "t" using command down'

Note: There is no native AppleScript command to open a new tab — System Events keystroke is required (needs Accessibility permission).

Running Commands

# Run in a new window
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to do script "ls -la"'

# Run in the front window
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to do script "pwd" in front window'

# Run in a specific tab
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to do script "date" in tab 1 of front window'

# Multiple commands
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to do script "cd ~/Projects && git status"'

Reading Output

# Get contents of selected tab
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get contents of selected tab of front window'

# Get full history of a tab
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get history of tab 1 of front window'

# Check if tab is busy (command still running)
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get busy of selected tab of front window'

Managing Windows

# Count windows
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to count windows'

# Resize window (x, y, width, height)
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to set bounds of front window to {0, 0, 800, 600}'

# Move window
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to set position of front window to {100, 100}'

# Close window
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to close front window'

# Minimize
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to set miniaturized of front window to true'

# Bring to front
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to activate'

Profiles and Themes

# List available profiles
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get name of every settings set'

# Apply profile to current tab
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal"
  set current settings of selected tab of front window to settings set "Pro"
end tell'

# Set default profile
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to set default settings to settings set "Pro"'

# Set startup profile
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to set startup settings to settings set "Homebrew"'

Tab Properties

# Custom title
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get custom title of selected tab of front window'

# Set custom title
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal"
  set custom title of selected tab of front window to "My Task"
  set title displays custom title of selected tab of front window to true
end tell'

# Busy status
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get busy of selected tab of front window'

# Running processes
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get processes of selected tab of front window'

# Rows and columns
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get number of rows of selected tab of front window'
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get number of columns of selected tab of front window'

Window Properties

# Window name
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get name of front window'

# Tab count
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to count tabs of front window'

# Bounds
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get bounds of front window'

# Visible
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to get visible of front window'

Common Workflows

Run a command and wait for completion

osascript <<'EOF'
tell application "Terminal"
  set t to do script "sleep 3 && echo DONE"
  repeat
    delay 0.5
    if not busy of t then exit repeat
  end repeat
  return contents of t
end tell
EOF

Split layout (two windows side by side)

osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal"
  do script "echo left"
  set bounds of front window to {0, 0, 960, 1080}
  do script "echo right"
  set bounds of front window to {960, 0, 1920, 1080}
end tell'

Limitations

• No native tab creation via AppleScript — requires System Events keystrokes and Accessibility permission
• No direct stdin input — do script sends text as if typed
• Output capture is approximate — contents returns the scrollback buffer which may be truncated; use file redirection for large outputs
• No per-command exit code — check $? inside the terminal
• busy only reflects child processes — a shell at a prompt is "not busy"
• Profile names are case-sensitive

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
"Access not allowed"	Grant Automation permission in System Settings
Keystrokes do nothing	Grant Accessibility permission in System Settings
contents returns empty	Add delay 0.5 before reading
busy always true	Shell profile runs a long init script; simplify .zshrc
Profile not found	Check exact name with get name of every settings set
do script opens new window	Specify in front window to reuse existing
Output truncated	Redirect to file: cmd > /tmp/output.txt 2>&1