In the Apple ecosystem, resetting a password is a crucial task that ensures the security and accessibility of your device and data. Whether you've forgotten your password or need to change it for security reasons, knowing how to reset it on macOS is essential. This article will guide you through the process of resetting your password on a Mac, using both the graphical user interface (GUI) and the command line interface (CLI).

Examples:

Using the Graphical User Interface (GUI)

1. Restart in Recovery Mode:

   • Restart your Mac and hold down the Command (⌘) + R keys until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.
   • This will boot your Mac into Recovery Mode.

2. Access Terminal:

   • In the macOS Utilities window, select Utilities from the menu bar and then choose Terminal.

3. Reset Password:

   • In the Terminal window, type the following command and press Enter:

     resetpassword

   • This will open the Reset Password utility.

4. Select User Account:

   • Follow the on-screen instructions to select the user account for which you want to reset the password.

5. Set New Password:

   • Enter and confirm the new password, then click Next to complete the process.

Using the Command Line Interface (CLI)

1. Boot into Single User Mode:

   • Restart your Mac and hold down the Command (⌘) + S keys to boot into Single User Mode.

2. Mount the Filesystem:

   • Once you see the command line prompt, type the following commands to mount the filesystem:

     /sbin/mount -uw /

3. Remove Apple Setup Done File:

   • To reset the password, you need to remove the file that indicates the initial setup has been completed:

     rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

4. Reboot:

   • Type reboot to restart your Mac.

5. Create New Admin Account:

   • After rebooting, your Mac will boot into the setup assistant. Follow the on-screen instructions to create a new admin account.

6. Reset Password for Original Account:

   • Once logged in with the new admin account, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.
   • Select the original account, click the Reset Password button, and enter a new password.