Manage Your Mac Like a Boss

I want a clean, repeatable process to setup a MacOS machine, and keep multiple MacOS machines similarly configured.

Getting Started

The setup assistant will launch once you turn the computer on. Enter your language, time zone, Apple ID, and so on. The first thing you should do is update macOS to get the latest security updates and patches.

• Install apps via Homebrew
• Shell setup with zsh
• Set up Node via nvm
• Set up git config
• Set up SSH keys and config
• macOS settings
• Application settings

1. Setup Oh-My-ZSH

MacOS now comes with zsh as the default shell. Install Oh My Zsh for sensible defaults.

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

2. Install Homebrew

Install the Homebrew package manager. This will allow you to install almost any app from the command line.

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

Make sure everything is up to date.

brew update && brew doctor

Install a few things manually to get bootstrapped:

brew install mackup gum fnm gh

Program	Purpose
mackup	.dotfiles Management
gum	Fancy Scripts
fnm	Fast Node Manager
gh	GitHub CLI

3. Authenticate to GitHub

Authenticate to GitHub so you can clone your private repos (e.g. your private .dotfiles repo). Go through the login process and accept the defaults:

gh auth login

4. Run Bootstrap Script

I maintain a bootstrap script in my macos-setup/scripts repository to setup a new machine. It will clone my .dotfiles and .macos settings repos and restore my dotfiles using mackup. It is idempotent.

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dstroot/macos-setup/master/scripts/install.sh)"

5. Install Apps (using dot script)

All my Homebrew apps are maintained in a .Brewfile. Running the maintenance script dot will install them and keep them updated.

dot

SSH

Generate an SSH key to distribute:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "dan.stroot@gmail.com"

SSH agent is part of OpenSSH and is a key manager for SSH. It holds your keys and certificates in memory, unencrypted, and ready for use by ssh. It saves you from typing a passphrase every time you connect to a server. It runs in the background on your system, separately from ssh, and it usually starts up the first time you run ssh after a reboot.

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

Add key.

ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

SSH Config

Simplify the process of ssh'ing into other boxes with your SSH config file. Create ~/.ssh/config if it does not already exist.

Add the following contents, changing the variables for any hosts that you connect to. Using the below will be the same as running ssh -i ~/.ssh/key.pem user@example.com.

~/.ssh/config

Host \*
AddKeysToAgent yes
UseKeychain yes
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
Host myssh
HostName example.com
User user
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/key.pem

Now just run the alias to connect.

ssh myssh

Set MacOS Settings

Here are the things I always change.

Sidebar

To get the Home folder in the finder, press CMD + SHIFT + H and drag the home folder to the sidebar.

General

Make Google Chrome default browser

Dock

Automatically hide and show Dock Show indicators for open applications

Keyboard

Key Repeat -> Fast Delay Until Repeat -> Short Disable "Correct spelling automatically" Disable "Capitalize words automatically" Disable "Add period with double-space" Disable "Use smart quotes and dashes"

Security and Privacy

Allow apps downloaded from App Store and identified developers Turn FileVault On (makes sure SSD is securely encrypted)

Sharing

Change computer name Make sure all file sharing is disabled

Users & Groups

Add "Rectangle" to Login items

Defaults

A few more commands to change some defaults.

# Show Library folder
chflags nohidden ~/Library

# Show hidden files
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

# Show path bar
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowPathbar -bool true

# Show status bar
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowStatusBar -bool true

# Prevent left and right swipe through history in Chrome
defaults write com.google.Chrome AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool false

Application Settings

Chrome

• Install uBlock Origin
• Install React DevTools
• Install Redux DevTools
• Install Duplicate Tab Shortcut
• Settings -> Set theme to "Dark"

Visual Studio Code

Press CMD + SHIFT + P and click "Install code command in PATH".

Now you can use code {file} to open any file in VSCode.

View Dotfiles for keyboard shortcuts and settings

Extensions

• Install New Moon Theme
• Install GitLens
• Install Highlight Matching Tag
• Install ESLint
• Install Prettier
• Install Jest
• Install Jest Runner

Rectangle

• Full Screen: CMD + SHIFT + ' (prevents messing with other commands)
• Left Half: CMD + OPTION + LEFT
• Right Half: CMD + OPTION + RIGHT

iTerm2

For some reason, iTerm2 does not let you use ⌥ + ← and → to tab through words in the terminal by default. I found this article to fix it: Use ⌥← and ⌥→ to jump forwards / backwards

• Go to Profiles -> Keys:
  • Change ⌥← via "Send Escape Sequence" with b
  • Change ⌥→ via "Send Escape Sequence" with f

Conclusion

That sums it up for my current preferences on setting up a MacBook Pro. I hope it helped speed up your process or gave you ideas for the next time you're setting one up.