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I accidentally used the following commands in terminal:

  1. In recovery mode: nvram boots-args="x"

  2. In a user profile in terminal: (a) sudo nvram boots-agr="" and (b) sudo nvram boots-args="", and then typed in the sudo password.

Will this affect the system at all, since these are misspelled commands? Usually the command is: nvram boot-args="", which has no "s" in boot, and "agr" is not used, but instead "args" is used.

Also, will it matter that a wrong command was used using the "sudo" command first?

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The superfluous variable should in theory not have any adverse effects, unless the startup code has some very specific bugs/flaws (which I do not assume). But these extra definitions will continue to take up space in an area with somewhat limited capacity, and affect clarity.

You can use nvram -p to dump and inspect all variables.

With a nvram -d boots-agr you can get rid of the ill-named one, here: boots.agr. This will most probably require sudo.

As always, man nvram is your friend. And when using sudo, be very very alert; you can do things which cannot be easily revoked - an accidental -c to nvram for example would have a very nasty effect. As a consequence, you should double-check all parameters given here.

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  • Thanks @jvb. How would I specifically delete the Audi boots-arg in terminal on a MacBook Pro? Is it the same...sudo nvram -d boots-arg? Do I leave out the “x” and “”? Also, man nvram does exactly what? I want to essentially undo anything I inadvertently did. I was trying to boot up in safe mode but accidentally typed in the various typos sudo nvram boots-agr=“” in the user profile and nvram boots-arg=“-x” in recovery mode.
    – Bobi
    Mar 1, 2019 at 5:58
  • man nvram will display the man(ual) page for the nvram tool, and explain the arguments and their usage. There you will find an example for setting and removing a variable... in case of -d, you just give the name (not name="value"). I really can recommend using man, it works for most commands you find on a system.
    – jvb
    Mar 1, 2019 at 6:45
  • thanks. Will it inform me if I have to use sudo with nvram-d, or should I just use it anyway? Or is this best done from recovery mode?
    – Bobi
    Mar 1, 2019 at 13:52
  • Use sudo sparingly - its main function is to act as a safeguard. When a command fails due to "insufficient permissions", check if you really mean to do that. Make sure you understand exactly what you are attempting to do. Double-check each parameter, then use sudo. Same goes for recovery mode, but even more decidedly. - I'm now feeling somewhat queasy talking about sudo and nvram while you did not know about man... feels a bit like a phone support hotline for chainsaw juggling... remember you are at the end with the chainsaws. You are accountable to make informed decisions.
    – jvb
    Mar 1, 2019 at 14:32
  • Thank you @jbv :) When I did a nvram -p I did not see the boots-agr or boots-arg variables. Should I still remove them with the nvram -d command? I'm assuming that the MacBook Pro OS prevented me from creating any nvram variables as a default saving feature...or the nvram -p doesn't show the created variables?
    – Bobi
    Mar 1, 2019 at 16:36

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