OSX Terminal - Change Application Focus

Question

Is there a way using command line to change the focus to a specific application? If so, do I need the process id or what?

My goal is to run a process that compiles files, and then focuses on the browser window once the files have finished compiling.

Answer 1

If I understand you correctly, this could be done quite easily with open -a. Opening an already-open application brings it to the forefront. The -a option allows you to specify the application you want, so pick your favorite:

open -a Google\ Chrome
open -a Safari
open -a Firefox

Answer 2

Another option is osascript -e 'activate application "Google Chrome"'.