macOS

Getting started

A brief guide for setting up macOS with essential developer tools, including Xcode command line tools, nvm, pnpm and Homebrew. Follow step-by-step instructions to install, configure and update your development environment efficiently.

References

• Xcode command line tools
• nvm
• pnpm
• Homebrew
• bat
• ffmpeg
• gh
• jq
• pipx
• zsh-autosuggestions
• zsh-syntax-highlighting

1. Xcode command line tools

   xcode-select --install

2. nvm

   curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.2/install.sh | bash

3. pnpm

   curl -fsSL https://get.pnpm.io/install.sh | sh -

4. Download apps

   • Chrome
   • Docker
   • VS Code
   
   

5. Homebrew

   Install

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

   Add packages

   brew install ffmpeg jq bat gh pipx zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting

   • ffmpeg: A complete, cross-platform solution to record, convert and stream audio and video.

   • jq: A lightweight and powerful command-line JSON processor for parsing, filtering and transforming JSON data.

   • bat: a cat clone with syntax highlighting, Git integration and other useful features.

   • gh: official GitHub CLI tool for managing repositories, pull requests, issues and more from the terminal.

   • pipx: tool to install and run Python applications in isolated environments, keeping them separate from system-wide Python packages.

   • zsh-autosuggestions: zsh plugin that provides command-line suggestions based on history and completions.

   • zsh-syntax-highlighting: zsh plugin that adds syntax highlighting to the terminal, improving readability and reducing mistakes.

6. Update git and shell configs

   ~/.gitconfig

   [init]
     defaultBranch = main
   [user]
     name = # First Last
     email = # [email protected]
   [core]
     excludesfile = ~/.gitignore
   
   # Set postBuffer to 10MB
   [http]
     postBuffer = 10485760

   ~/.gitignore

   # OS files
   .DS_Store
   .DS_Store?
   ._*
   .Spotlight-V100
   .Trashes
   ehthumbs.db
   Thumbs.db
   desktop.ini
   
   # Build/dependency directories
   node_modules
   venv

   ~/.zprofile

   # Homebrew
   # macOS Intel x86_64
   eval "$(/usr/local/bin/brew shellenv)"
   # macOS Apple silicon arm64
   eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

   ~/.zshrc

   # Plugins
   source $(brew --prefix)/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh
   source $(brew --prefix)/share/zsh-autosuggestions/zsh-autosuggestions.zsh
   
   # nvm
   export NVM_DIR="$([ -z "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME-}" ] && printf "%s" "${HOME}/.nvm" || printf "%s" "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/nvm")"
   # Lazy load
   [ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" --no-use
   
   # Docker completions
   fpath=($HOME/.docker/completions $fpath)
   
   # pipx
   export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
   
   # pnpm
   export PNPM_HOME="$HOME/Library/pnpm"
   case ":$PATH:" in
     *":$PNPM_HOME:"*) ;;
     *) export PATH="$PNPM_HOME:$PATH" ;;
   esac
   # pnpm end
   
   # Java & Android Studio environment variables
   export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-17.jdk/Contents/Home
   export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk
   export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/emulator
   export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools
   
   # Opinionated defaults
   alias ls='ls -A'                      # List all entries except . and ..
   alias grep='grep --color=auto'        # Shows matches in color
   alias rm='rm -i'                      # Always prompt before removing files
   alias mkdir='mkdir -p'                # Automatically create parent directories as needed
   alias cat='bat'                       # Use bat for syntax highlighting if installed
   
   # Traversing
   alias ..='cd ..'                      # Go up one directory
   alias ...='cd ../../../'              # Go up three directories
   alias ....='cd ../../../../'          # Go up four directories
   alias ~="cd ~"                        # Go to home directory
   
   # Git
   alias gs='git status'                 # Quick git status
   alias ga='git add'                    # Stage files for commit
   alias gc='git commit'                 # Commit staged changes
   alias gp='git push'                   # Push commits to a remote repository
   alias gd='git diff'                   # Show unstaged differences since last commit
   alias glog='git log --oneline --graph --decorate' # Pretty git log
   
   # Shawtys
   alias hg='history | grep'             # Search history
   alias rg='grep -rHn'                  # Recursive, display filename and line number

7. Compile shell

   exec zsh && zcompile ~/.zshrc && zcompile ~/.zprofile

   • exec zsh fully restarts the shell session and clears any temporary shell variables or functions.

   • zcompile precompiles .zshrc and .zprofile into a binary format (.zshrc.zwc and .zprofile.zwc.

   • When zsh starts, it loads the .zwc files instead of parsing the original files, reducing startup time.