Mac software: 2022

updated in the spring of 2024

In May I’ve set up three different Macs (don’t ask) starting from a clean latest macOS installation. Here’s what I do and install, and in what order, to feel at home:

1. update the OS
2. if this is a laptop, enable “tap to click” in trackpad settings
3. if this is a laptop, enable Touch ID
4. Things
5. Spotify
6. SteerMouse
   • configure buttons
   • configure sensitivity
   • enter license
7. tweak macOS settings
   • remove everything from the dock
   • download wallpaper from the pixel sorting post
   • configure dock and menu bar
     • dock
     • clock
     • spotlight
   • disable autocorrection
   • configure spaces
   • configure hot corners
   • add Stage Manager shortcut in keyboard shortcuts
   • disable “click wallpaper to reveal desktop”
   • configure Finder
   • configure Safari:
     • general
     • tabs
     • advanced
     • search — DuckDuckGo
   • open a video call, click on the camera button in the menu bar, and disable reactions
8. Fira Code
9. MacVim
10. iTerm
11. copy ~/.zsh_history from another Mac
12. generate a new SSH key
    • go through “configure SSO” for this key on GitHub
13. Homebrew
14. copy Quake 3 sounds (used in git aliases) from another Mac
15. dotfiles
    • configure iTerm
16. Hammerspoon
17. Visual Studio Code
    • ⇧⌘P sync settings using GitHub
18. VLC
19. Xcode
    • general
    • text editing
    • install One Dark theme
    • increase the font size to 20
    • change the background color to be the same as in MacVim and VS Code
    • remove the “Print…” key binding
    • remap “Open Quickly…” to ⌘P
    • remove “Move Paragraph Backward/Forward”
    • remap “Move Line Up/Down (Source Code)” to ⌥↑, ⌥↓
    • remove “Duplicate”
    • remap “Show Debug Area” to ⌘D
    • enable Vim mode: help › search › “vim”
    • disable minimap: help › search › “minimap”

This is not a complete list of everything I use or tweak, but it’s a solid starting point that gets me 80–90% of the way there.