macOS

This page describes how to access the institute’s IT infrastructure from a Mac.

Wi-Fi – Eduroam

Detailed setup instructions for eduroam are available on the CMS website (mostly in German).

VPN (remote access)

A VPN connection is required to access institute resources from off campus. Setup instructions are available from the Computer and Media Service.

SSH access

macOS includes a Terminal and SSH client out of the box – no additional software needed. Open Terminal (Spotlight: ⌘ Space, type “Terminal”, or Applications → Utilities → Terminal):

$ ssh yourusername@ssh.mathematik.hu-berlin.de

For details on SSH keys, config file, compute servers, and file transfer, see the SSH access page.

Graphical applications over SSH (X11 forwarding)

To run graphical applications on the compute servers (e.g. Matlab windows, graphical editors), you need XQuartz – the X11 implementation for macOS. Download and installation instructions at xquartz.org.

After installing, launch XQuartz once, then connect with:

$ ssh -X yourusername@ssh.mathematik.hu-berlin.de

Graphical programs (e.g. xterm, matlab, gedit) can then be started from the terminal and will appear as windows on your Mac.

XQuartz must be running in the background for X11 forwarding to work. It starts automatically when you connect with ssh -X.

Accessing your home directory

The easiest way to access files in your university home directory is with an SFTP client.

Cyberduck

Cyberduck is free and well-integrated with macOS. Create a new connection with:

Setting	Value
Protocol	SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol)
Server	`ssh.mathematik.hu-berlin.de`
Port	`22`
Username	Your institute account name

Finder – mounting via sshfs

The Finder does not support SFTP natively. However, you can mount your home directory as a drive using macFUSE and sshfs (via Homebrew):

$ brew install sshfs
$ mkdir -p ~/uni_home
$ sshfs yourusername@ssh.mathematik.hu-berlin.de: ~/uni_home
# Unmount:
$ umount ~/uni_home

macFUSE requires a one-time approval under System Settings → Privacy & Security (kernel extension).

Printer configuration

To add an institute printer on macOS:

System Settings → Printers & Scanners → +
Switch to the IP tab.
Address: cupsserv.mathematik.hu-berlin.de
Protocol: Line Printer Daemon – LPD
Queue: printer name with a leading slash, e.g. /d2207
Click Add.

Available printers: d2207 (room 2.207) and d2213 (room 2.213). See the Printing page for more details.

macOS add printer – step 1 — Select the IP tab and enter the server address

macOS add printer – step 2 — Set protocol to LPD and enter the queue name

Homebrew – package manager

Homebrew is the de-facto standard package manager for macOS, making it straightforward to install Unix tools. After installing (see the Homebrew website for instructions), familiar tools are readily available:

$ brew install wget rsync tmux git

Homebrew requires the Xcode Command Line Tools, which are offered automatically on the first brew invocation, or can be installed manually:

$ xcode-select --install