Running Linux shell on OS X [closed]

Question

I want some applications to run on my OS X. But they cant be ran due to they are only for Linux. How can I have a Linux shell on my OS X? I mean how can I have a seperate Linux shell and a OS X terminal on OS X?

Answer 1

It depends on your use specific use case:

• To run GNU utilities (as found on Linux systems) alongside the mostly BSD-based utilities on macOS, install them via Homebrew; note that installing alongside entails that the GNU utility names are g-prefixed to avoid shadowing the stock macOS utilities; e.g., GNU ls is installed as gls; also note that macOS's Bash is still v3.x and will remain on that version for licensing reasons:

  • brew install coreutils ... most of the GNU utilities (installed g-prefixed)
  • brew install gawk ... GNU Awk (installed as gawk)
  • brew install findutils ... the find utliity (installed as gfind)
  • brew install gnu-sed ... GNU Sed (installed as gsed)

• To run commands in an isolated, bona fide Linux environment inside a VM (using Bash v4.x and above), install Docker and then install, e.g., an Ubuntu image (docker pull ubuntu).

  • With the Docker environment loaded (open application Docker QuickStart Terminal.app), you can then run docker run -it ubuntu bash to enter an interactive Linux Bash shell.