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macOS setup

A setup guide for programmers, etc., on Windows.

See also

Linux setup guide and Windows setup guide

Initial setup

The obvious: Upgrade macOS, enable FileVault, and remove unneeded Login Items.

Install Homebrew and update it: brew update && brew upgrade. Install a few extra Linux utils:

brew install ssh-copy-id coreutils git bash zsh

Install the text editor Sublime (brew install --cask sublime-text).

And a couple of small things:

  • Show hidden files: Run defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true. Then run killall Finder.
  • Show filename extensions: Do this in Finder → Settings → Advanced.
  • In Finder, add your home folder to the SideBar. File → add to sidebar.
  • Finder → settings → Advanced → Show all filenames.

SSH, GPG, & GitHub CLI

Install a version of OpenSSL (actually LibreSSL that will receive updates: brew install libressl. The OpenSSL version in macOS by default was seriously out-of-date when Heartbleed was made public, and took a long time to get patched.

Also install GPG: brew install gnupg. And the GitHub CLI: brew install gh.

Update command

I like running this to add a brewing command:

echo 'alias brewing="brew update && brew upgrade && brew cleanup; brew doctor"'\
  >> ~/.commonrc

From that, you can run brewing to update Brew and its packages, and fix problems.

Note

Although Homebrew only recommends running brew doctor if there’s a problem, chances are you’ll eventually need to run it, so it’s not a bad idea to deal with those issues immediately rather than to accumulate a daunting stack of issues to fix simultaneously later.

Install Oh My Zsh

You’ll thank me later. (You’ll need ZSH installed for this to work.)

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

You should be prompted to change your shell. If you are not, run

chsh -s $(which zsh)

Make sure it is set by running

sudo cat /etc/passwd | grep $USER

You may need to reboot for the change to your login shell to take effect. You should now have a colorful shell, complete with a plugin for Git.

.commonrc file

To keep the config for ZSH and Bash consistent, add a file called .commonrc in your home directory:

echo 'export PATH=/usr/local/sbin:$PATH\n' > ~/.commonrc
echo 'source ~/.commonrc\n' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'source ~/.commonrc\n' >> ~/.bashrc

From here on, only modify .commonrc so that both Bash and ZSH have the same environment.

Git, SSH, and GPG

See this guide.

Install Java and Rust

First, Install the Rust toolchain.

Then, download JDK 21 from Temurin. Do not use Java 8, java.com, or OpenJDK. Make sure it’s on your $PATH by running java --version in a new shell.

Generate a certificate

If you need a certificate, set a static IP address and generate a certificate with certbot. Choose “None of the above” for Software. Then follow the instructions exactly, including the “Automating renewal” section. This may not work through some company and university firewalls.

Sudoers

The easiest way is to run

su  #(1)!
usermod -aG sudo $USER
  1. This will require you to enter the root password.

See this sudoers guide for more info.

Dotfiles

Make a ~/bin directory and add it to your $PATH in .commonrc:

mkdir ~/bin && echo 'export PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.commonrc

Consider grabbing some Bash scripts from awesome-dotfiles. Clone your chosen dotfiles repo into ~/bin. I put some aliases and functions directly in my .commonrc:

add-bookmarks.sh.txt

Thanks

Thank you to Cole Helsell for drafting this guide with me.