Which password does Terminal require

25reasons wrote:

Which password do I need to type into Terminal, my Apple ID password, my MacBook Pro password, or something else? I've tried both and it's not correct.

Terminal.app provides access to a command shell; to the command line. That command shell is either the zsh or the bash command shell, lately.

What password is needed depends on what you are doing.

If you are entering a sudo command for instance, that command (by default) requires the macOS login password for the current user, and that user must be a member of the admin group.

If entering an ssh password, that’s the login password for the remote server you’re attempting to log into.

Terminal app itself does not (by default) require a password to launch.

What is the context? What’s the command?

25reasons wrote:

Thanks again. I'm following Siteground's instructions to test a WordPress site that's just been migrated across to them.

Yuck. Okay. The macOS login password is the password needed for sudo.

Do you know your macOS login password, or do you need to reset it? (To reset, see the links included above.)

(Resetting your macOS login password will mean you will no longer have access to any passwords stored in Keychain.)

25reasons wrote:

Oh I see, thank you.

The command is sudo nano /private/etc/hosts

I've just found an article which tells me how to find my password. It says to do this:

How do I find my Mac administrator password using Terminal?

Here's how to do that:1.

Restart your Mac. ...

2. While it is restarting, press and hold the Command + R keys until you see the Apple logo. ...

3. Go to the Apple Menu at the top and click Utilities. ...

4. Then click Terminal.

5. Type “resetpassword” in the terminal window. ...

6. Then hit Enter. ...

7. Type your password and a hint. ...

8. Finally, click Restart.

Is that correct?

I’m confused. Where are you headed with this? What’s your goal?

The /etc/hosts file is not related to a password reset.

Which macOS version?

For a forgotten-password on macOS, I’d follow this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202860

and then this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212190

There are various reasons for modifying /etc/hosts but some caution should be used. Depending on the context, some cracked apps and some malware apps do request users modify that file when installing the apps—and the cracked apps themselves too often tend to contain malware. I am aware of some folks that use that dile as a form of ad blocking, but that tends to get clunky. Setting up names for a local network is another, but Bonjour / mDNS works pretty well for that without requiring modifications.

If you are taking over a new Mac from its previous owner, there is a reset procedure the owner should follow. not following the reset will cause all sorts of problems when trying to update apps and macOS itself.

Here is: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support

Open Users & Groups System Settings. Select the i next to your user and see if the “allow this user to administer this computer” on or off.

25reasons wrote:

Yeah, I used what I normally use to open my MacBook, but it doesn't like it.

Is your macOS login a member of the Admin group?

System Settings > Users & Groups > check whether your login is listed as a member of the Admin group.

Is your login account an Admin account? That’s a requirement.

Another way at this is to download the BBEdit (free) editor, and use that to edit this file. BBEdit is one of the few GUI text editors that can correctly process text files.

The cursor is not involved in the command line. When sudo prompts for a password, it’ll show “password” prompt, and the login password is entered from the keyboard. No cursor. The prompt won’t show the password input.