One of the options in the Get Info window is the “Open With” drop-down menu. Select Other From The “Open With” Drop-Down Menu Right-Click On Your Text File And Select “Get Info”įind your text file in the Macintosh Finder, right-click on it, and select “Get Info”. Here’s how to make an executable Mac file that you can just double-click on and open in Terminal. Change The Default Open With Application (macOS)Įven if your Terminal program knows that it should execute your file, your operating system may still try to open your file in a text editor. If your file doesn’t automatically open in Terminal, then you might need to change the default program assigned to handle the file for your operating system. You should now be able to double-click on the file and have it automatically open in Terminal and execute accordingly. After you press return, the Terminal will execute your chmod command and make your text file a Unix executable file. sudo chmod +x /path/file-name Press Return This should add the file path at the end of your chmod +x command. Next, drag the text file that you want to convert into a Unix or Linux executable file into the Terminal window. chmod +x Drag Your Text File Into The Terminal Window Once you have a new Terminal window open, type sudo chmod +x and add a space at the end.

If you can’t find your Terminal app, then download a new Linux Terminal emulator.

Just search for “Terminal” to see if you have a Terminal app. If you don’t immediately see a Terminal icon, then try pressing Ctrl+ Alt+ T on your keyboard.

Most Linux distributions include a Terminal application.

Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

You can find it in your Utilities folder.

The macOS already comes with a Terminal application.Open Your Terminal Applicationĭepending on your operating system (Mac, Unix, or Linux), your Terminal application might have a different name, but regardless, the following steps will be the same. Why? When you saved the file it became a text file and your operating system no longer considers it to be “executable” file. But as soon as you save the file, it won’t automatically open in your Terminal application anymore. If you are just learning how to use Unix or Linux, then you might be modifying an existing Unix executable file using a plain text editor.

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