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Setup a new mac (for devs [and others]) šŸ’»

Dekel on July 25, 2021

"Got a new macbook🄳! What should I install now 🧐?" I'm getting this question every couple of weeks from friends and colleagues, and ev...
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eljayadobe profile image
Eljay-Adobe •

My own checklist:

  • Unbox, plug-in, and boot new Mac
  • Setup network (WiFi, probably)
  • Install macOS updates
  • Install App store updates
  • Install Xcode
  • Install Brew
  • Install Vim using Brew
  • Install MacVim using Brew
  • Install boost, calc, clang-format, coreutils, dmd, doctest, dub, elm, elm-format, fdupes, findutils, gcc, gdb, git, ghc, go, icu4c, ldc, llvm, ncurses, pcre, pcre2, python (whatever the latest is... 3.9 today), range-v3, ripgrep, and sqlite using Brew
  • vi ~/.vimrc and add some of my favorite environment settings
  • vi ~/.bash_profile and add some of my favorite aliases and functions

Ready! (I'm still using Bash. I've started using Zsh, but I'm a Zsh noob.)

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drhyde profile image
David Cantrell •

I too stick with bash, because I can't go installing zsh on the machines I use at work. I'd rather have one environment to work in than two different ones. Plus I've already got loads of bash shell customisations and porting them to work on zsh as well would be a pain.

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

I get it. Too bad you can't install zsh (with oh-my-zsh) at work.

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Doug Elkin •

bash-it is a pretty good shameless ripoff of oh-my-zsh

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

zsh is great, and the themes/plugins give you so much. I really recommend checking them!

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Mike Talbot ⭐ •

For me add:

  • Yoink - somewhere to temporarily hold files that stays on screen while you move through desktops (paid, but worth it)
  • Moom - my preferred window manager (paid, but worth it for me)
  • Add the git plugin to zsh so your command prompt shows the branch you are on and other info
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Pedro Luz •

To replace Yoink you also have Dropzone aptonic.com/, It does the same think has Yoink but also has extra functionality like drag and drop to anywhere... S3 server another directory, an FTP server, printer, etc

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

Yoink and Moom are indeed interesting. Thanks for sharing those! I never had such need, but I might try it šŸ˜€.
As for the git plugin - I agree (and there are many more). You can also find that specific plugin in my recommended list šŸ˜‰.

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Baruch Odem •

I think I should move to oh-my-zsh. I worked with oh-my-posh or starship because they are cross platform, and I moved my configuration between computers. But I see there are incredible features in oh-my-zsh that I dreamed about

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

I completely agree. If you still don't use oh-my-zsh - you should definitely try it!

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drhyde profile image
David Cantrell •

Three that I find essential that no-one has mentioned are bat, direnv, and calc, all installable via homebrew.

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dekel profile image
Dekel •
  1. bat is super cool! New to me and I should definitely give it a try.
  2. I mostly find direnv a bit less relevant for me. I use dotenv in most environments.
  3. As for calc - ipython always runs in one of my shells, and it gives me better interface for that.
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drhyde profile image
David Cantrell •

I'm quite often switching between projects, and it's handy for each one to have its own PATH set up, its own PERL5LIB, and a few other less common things.

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moopet profile image
Ben Sinclair •

Change the key repeat and repeat delay

Why do you do this?

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

Mostly because I don't like waiting šŸ˜€.
Just an example - when clicking the backspace (and holding it) - I don't like to wait before characters get deleted (this is the delay until repeat configuration) , and once they start to get deleted - I like that they get deleted fast (the key repeat).

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moopet profile image
Ben Sinclair •

There are shortcuts for "delete back a word" or "delete to end of line", etc., which I prefer. I can't remember holding a key down to do anything for years!

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

There are indeed šŸ˜€ option+backspace & cmd+backspace, however sometimes I prefer to have the ability to click and hold. It really depends on the situation.

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hannanel100 profile image
hannanel100 •

Got my first Mac from my new dev job, have never used a mac before and was going crazy swiping on the trackpad to move form window to window, thanks for the recommendation for altTab, its a life saver...

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baruchiro profile image
Baruch Odem •

Thanks!
Try tldr.sh tool

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

Thanks for this one. Super cool šŸ˜Ž!

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smeetsmeister profile image
Jelle Smeets •

Awesome read! Can't believe I ever lived without Rectangle!

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

Thanks @smeetsmeister ! I used Spectacle in the past, but since it is no longer maintained I found Rectangle to be an amazing replacement (and its also open-source!)

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Dillon Headley •

Nice! I I’ll check out rectangle as I’ve been using spectacle. Also I use fish shell instead of zsh. Comes with autocomplete and some other nice things out of the box!

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Nguyen Tran Chau Giang •

you should have dotfiles

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dekel profile image
Dekel •

Thanks for this! I'll check it out :-)

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Luca Predoi •

Nice! Coding garden has a great livestream where he sets up his new mac.

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TemiloluFola •

Love this! I just moved from Windows to macOS. Will definitely them out.

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temilolufola profile image
TemiloluFola •

Love this! I just moved from Windows to macOS. Will definitely them out.

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Alon Ehrenlieb •

Great article!
Just moved to Mac and it helped a lot