mac-bootstrap

Idempotent macOS setup script. Run it once on a fresh Mac, or run it repeatedly - it'll only do what's needed.

Quick Start

Run this on a fresh Mac (no dependencies required):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rnxj/mac-bootstrap/main/install.sh | bash

That's it. After it finishes, restart your terminal and run p10k configure to set up your prompt theme.

Alternative: Clone manually

If you already have git installed:

git clone https://github.com/rnxj/mac-bootstrap.git ~/.mac-bootstrap
~/.mac-bootstrap/bootstrap.sh

What It Does

Core Tools

• Xcode Command Line Tools - Required for git, compilers, etc.
• Homebrew - Package manager for macOS
• GitHub CLI (gh) - GitHub from the command line
• mise - Runtime version manager (Node.js, Go, etc.)

GitHub Setup

• SSH key generation - Ed25519 key with macOS Keychain integration
• GitHub CLI authentication - Browser-based OAuth flow
• Automatic key upload - Adds SSH key to your GitHub account

Shell Setup (Zsh)

• Zinit - Fast plugin manager
• Powerlevel10k - Beautiful, fast prompt theme
• Core plugins:
  • zsh-syntax-highlighting - Command syntax colors
  • zsh-completions - Additional completions
  • zsh-autosuggestions - Fish-like suggestions
• fzf - Fuzzy finder for files and history
• fzf-tab - Fuzzy completion for tab
• zoxide - Smarter cd that learns your habits
• Oh-My-Zsh snippets - git, sudo, aws, kubectl aliases

Terminal

• Ghostty - Fast, native terminal emulator
• JetBrains Mono Nerd Font - Programming font with icons
• Catppuccin Mocha - Easy-on-the-eyes color theme

Apps

• Google Chrome
• Claude
• Zed (editor)
• Ghostty (terminal)

Language Runtimes

• Node.js (latest)
• Go (latest)

Features

• 100% Idempotent - Safe to run multiple times
• Smart config management - Detects if you've modified configs and asks before overwriting
• Automatic backups - Backs up existing configs before replacing
• GitHub SSH setup - Generates key, authenticates CLI, uploads to GitHub
• Hush login - No more "Last login" message

File Structure

mac-bootstrap/
├── install.sh      # One-liner installer (curl this)
├── bootstrap.sh    # Main setup script
├── Brewfile        # Homebrew packages
├── .mise.toml      # Language runtime versions
└── README.md

Customization

Adding Homebrew packages

Edit Brewfile:

brew "ripgrep"
cask "spotify"

Adding Zsh config

The generated ~/.zshrc has a USER CONFIG section at the bottom. Add your customizations there - they'll be preserved if you re-run bootstrap and choose not to overwrite.

Changing language runtimes

Edit the mise section in bootstrap.sh:

mise use --global node@20 python@3.12 go@latest

What Gets Created

File	Purpose
~/.zshrc	Zsh configuration
~/.p10k.zsh	Powerlevel10k theme config (after running p10k configure)
~/.config/ghostty/config	Ghostty terminal config
~/.hushlogin	Disables "Last login" message
~/.local/share/zinit/	Zinit plugins
~/.ssh/id_ed25519	SSH private key (if GitHub setup enabled)
~/.ssh/config	SSH config with GitHub host settings

Updating

Re-run the installer to get the latest version:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rnxj/mac-bootstrap/main/install.sh | bash

Or if you want to update manually:

cd ~/.mac-bootstrap
git pull
./bootstrap.sh

The script will detect changes and prompt you to update configs if needed.

Troubleshooting

Fonts look weird in terminal

Make sure to select "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font" in your terminal settings, or run p10k configure and select "Yes" when asked about installing fonts.

Ghostty theme not found

Make sure you're running Ghostty 1.2.0+. The theme name is Catppuccin Mocha (with space, title case).

ghostty command not found

Restart your terminal or run exec zsh. The PATH is configured in .zshrc.

Zsh plugins not loading

Run exec zsh to reload, or check if Zinit installed correctly at ~/.local/share/zinit/.

GitHub SSH not working

Test your connection with ssh -T git@github.com. If it fails:

• Run ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 to add key to agent
• Check if key is on GitHub: gh ssh-key list
• Re-run bootstrap and select "y" for GitHub setup

GitHub CLI not authenticated

Run gh auth login and follow the prompts, or re-run bootstrap.

Credits

Shell setup inspired by Dreams of Autonomy.