How to fix 'command not found' in macOS Terminal

First, confirm whether the command is installed, use which or command -v to check. If it is not installed, you need to install the tool first; 2. Confirm the shell currently used (echo $SHELL), macOS defaults to zsh, and the corresponding configuration files such as ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile should be edited; 3. Check the PATH environment variable (echo $PATH) to ensure that the command is contained. If it is missing, add such as export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH" to the correct configuration file; 4. If the tool installation is abnormal, you can reinstall Homebrew or use nvm and other version management tools to ensure that PATH is configured correctly; 5. After modifying the configuration, you need to run source ~/.zshrc or restart the terminal to make the changes take effect; 6. Pay attention to command case and spelling errors to ensure that the input is correct. Finally, solving the "command not found" problem requires ensuring that the tool is installed and its path is correctly added to the PATH.

If you're seeing a "command not found" error in macOS Terminal — like zsh: command not found: [command] — it means the system can't locate the executable you're trying to run. This is common when installing new tools, changing shells, or modifying your environment. Here's how to fix it.

1. Check if the Command Is Actually Installed

Before troubleshooting the path, confirm the command exists on your system.

 which command_name

or

 command -v command_name

If nothing returns, the tool isn't installed. For example, if you type brew and get "command not found", Homebrew may not be installed — or it's not in your PATH.

Example: If you installed node via a package installer but still get "command not found", it might not have added the binaries to a directory in your PATH.

2. Verify Your Shell and Shell Profile

macOS uses zsh as the default shell since Catalina. Older systems used bash . Make sure you know which shell you're using:

 echo $SHELL

Then check the correct shell configuration file:

• For zsh : ~/.zshrc or ~/.zprofile
• For bash : ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bashrc

If you installed a tool that added a line to .bash_profile but you're using zsh , that line won't be loaded.

✅ Fix : Edit the correct file.

 # Open the right config file
nano ~/.zshrc

Add any required export PATH=... lines here if they were added to the wrong file.

3. Check and Fix Your PATH Variable

The "command not found" error often means the directory containing the command isn't in your PATH .

See your current PATH:

 echo $PATH

Look for directories like:

• /usr/local/bin
• /opt/homebrew/bin (Apple Silicon Macs)
• ~/bin
• ~/.npm-global/bin (for global npm packages)

If a needed directory is missing, add it.

✅ Fix : Add the missing directory to your PATH in the correct shell file.

For example, if you installed Homebrew on Apple Silicon Mac:

 export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH"

Or for Intel Macs:

 export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"

Save the file, then reload your shell config:

 source ~/.zshrc

(Or source ~/.bash_profile , depending on your shell.)

4. Reinstall or Repair Common Tools

Sometimes the tool is broken or partially installed.

Homebrew

If brew is not found:

 /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

It will install to /opt/homebrew (Apple Silicon) or /usr/local (Intel), and usually adds itself to your PATH.

After install, follow the post-install instructions it prints — often you need to manually add Homebrew to your PATH in ~/.zshrc .

Node.js/npm

If node or npm is missing after installing via .pkg :

• The installer should add symlinks to /usr/local/bin , but sometimes they're blocked.
• Reinstall using Homebrew for better PATH integration:

 brew install node

Or use a version manager like nvm :

 # Install nvm
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash

# Then install node
nvm install node

nvm automatically handles PATH setup.

5. Open a New Terminal or Source Config

After editing config files, you must either:

• Run source ~/.zshrc (or the file you edited), or
• Close and reopen Terminal

Otherwise, your changes won't take effect.

6. Check for Typos or Case Sensitivity

Unix-like systems are case-sensitive. Typing Git instead of git may fail if the binary is lowercase.

Also double-check spelling: python vs pyhton .

Summary of Common Fixes

• ✅ Make sure the tool is actually installed.
• ✅ Use the correct shell config file ( ~/.zshrc for zsh).
• ✅ Add the right directory to PATH (eg /opt/homebrew/bin ).
• ✅ Reload your config with source or restart Terminal.
• ✅ Reinstall using Homebrew or a version manager if needed.

Basically, "command not found" comes down to PATH or installation issues. Once you confirm where the command lives and ensure that location is in your PATH, it should work. Most modern tools will tell you what to add to your shell file — just make sure you're editing the right one.

The above is the detailed content of How to fix 'command not found' in macOS Terminal. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!