macOS Dev Environment Launcher

A macOS Quick Action that streamlines your workflow startup. Instead of manually opening a terminal, navigating to a project, and then launching your editor, this script lets you right-click any project folder and ask: "Which terminal should we use today?"

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Configuration
• Documentation
• Contributing
• License

Features

• Interactive Picker: Uses a native macOS dialog to let you choose your terminal on the fly (e.g., Ghostty, Kitty, Warp, Wave).
• Editor Integration: Optionally launches your code editor (VS Codium, VS Code, etc.) alongside the terminal.
• Context Aware: Opens the terminal directly to the selected folder.
• Lightweight & Fast: Minimal dependencies, launches in under 2 seconds.
• Highly Customizable: Easy to configure for your specific development environment.

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Installation

Prerequisites

• macOS 12 (Monterey) or later
• Python 3 (pre-installed on macOS)
• Your preferred terminal emulator(s) installed in /Applications
• Your preferred code editor installed in /Applications

1. Place the Script

Save open_dev_env.py to a permanent location (e.g., ~/scripts/).

mkdir -p ~/scripts
cd ~/scripts
# Download or copy open_dev_env.py here

2. Create the Quick Action

1. Open Automator > New Quick Action.
2. Set Workflow receives current to files or folders in Finder.
3. Add a Run Shell Script action.
4. Important: Set "Pass input" to as arguments.
5. Paste the command:

   /usr/bin/python3 "$HOME/scripts/open_dev_env.py" "$@"

6. Save as "Open Dev Environment".

3. Enable the Quick Action

The Quick Action should now appear in Finder's context menu under Quick Actions when you right-click a folder.

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Usage

1. Right-click a project folder in Finder.
2. Select Quick Actions > Open Dev Environment.
3. Pick your terminal from the list.
4. Click "Yes" to open your editor (or "No" to skip).

That's it! Your terminal and editor will launch in the selected directory.

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Configuration

The script is designed to be easily customized for your specific tools.

1. Open open_dev_env.py.
2. Edit the TERMINAL_APPS list to match the exact names of the apps in your /Applications folder.
3. Update EDITOR_APP to your preferred editor.

# --- CONFIGURATION ---
TERMINAL_APPS = ["Ghostty", "Kitty", "Warp", "Wave"] 
EDITOR_APP = "VSCodium"

Supported Terminal Emulators:

• Ghostty
• Kitty
• Warp
• Wave
• iTerm2
• Alacritty
• Hyper
• Terminal (macOS default)
• Any app in /Applications

Supported Editors:

• VS Code
• VSCodium
• Sublime Text
• JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.)
• Any app in /Applications

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Documentation

Project Roadmap

Interested in upcoming features and improvements? Check out our detailed implementation plan:

📋 ROADMAP.md - Multi-phase enhancement plan including:

• Advanced error handling and logging
• External configuration files
• Multi-editor support
• Project type detection
• Profile system for different workflows
• And much more!

Troubleshooting

Quick Action doesn't appear:

• Ensure the Automator workflow is saved correctly
• Try restarting Finder: killall Finder
• Check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation

Permission denied errors:

• Verify the script has executable permissions: chmod +x ~/scripts/open_dev_env.py
• Check that Automator has necessary permissions in System Settings

App not launching:

• Verify the app name in TERMINAL_APPS or EDITOR_APP matches exactly with the name in /Applications
• App names are case-sensitive (e.g., "VSCodium" not "vscodium")

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Whether it's:

• 🐛 Bug reports
• 💡 Feature requests
• 📝 Documentation improvements
• 🔧 Code contributions

Please feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.

Development

Interested in contributing? See our ROADMAP.md for planned features and implementation priorities.

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License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

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Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ for developers who value efficient workflows.

Star this repo if you find it useful! ⭐