View all login history on MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.8?

Question

What command can I use in terminal to see login history? I think it's possible someone created a hidden account or booted the machine in safe mode.

score 26 · Answer 1 · edited May 08 '24 at 15:56

26

The venerable Unix utility for viewing previous logins is last.

See man last

edited May 08 '24 at 15:56

Community

answered May 19 '15 at 00:19

Spiff

score 24 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 29 '19 at 17:48

24

Checked on Mac OS Mojave 10.14.5

sudo log show --style syslog  --last 1d | awk '/Enter/ && /unlockUIBecomesActive/ {print $1 " " $2}'

1d - is a shortcut for a period back in time

answered Aug 29 '19 at 17:48

DarkSatyr

score 10 · Answer 3 · edited May 08 '24 at 15:56

Here is how I did it.

To see your login history on your Mac:

Open the "Terminal" app
Type the word last followed by your username. For example, last johnsmith.
A list of login activity for your user account will appear in reverse chronological order.

For folks unfamiliar with Terminal:

To open, you can quickly find it in the Spotlight Search (hourglass search icon at top-right of screen).

The process I described worked today for me. I am using OS X Yosemite (10.10.5). I haven't tested it with other Mac operating systems.

3 Answers3