Dev In The Mountain Header
A Developer In The mountains having fun

Mac Install

Applications I always install on a fresh mac system

Package Manager

Homebrew

The essential package manager for macOS.

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

Core Development Tools

Terminal & Shell

brew install iterm2           # Better terminal than default
brew install --cask warp      # Modern terminal (alternative)
brew install zsh              # Modern shell (usually pre-installed)
brew install tmux             # Terminal multiplexer

Essential CLI Tools

brew install git
brew install neovim
brew install ripgrep          # Fast grep
brew install fd               # Fast find
brew install bat              # Cat with syntax highlighting
brew install fzf              # Fuzzy finder
brew install tree             # Directory tree viewer

See CLI Tools for more modern CLI utilities.

Programming Languages

Node.js

brew install nvm              # Node version manager
# Then install Node
nvm install --lts

Python

brew install python@3.11
brew install pyenv            # Python version manager

Go

brew install go

Rust

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Editors & IDEs

brew install --cask visual-studio-code
brew install --cask sublime-text
brew install vim              # Usually pre-installed

File Managers

brew install ranger           # Terminal file manager
brew install lf               # Lightweight file manager
brew install yazi             # Modern terminal file manager

Productivity Apps

Communication

brew install --cask slack
brew install --cask discord
brew install --cask zoom

Browsers

brew install --cask firefox
brew install --cask google-chrome
brew install --cask brave-browser

Note-Taking

brew install --cask obsidian
brew install --cask notion

Development Tools

Containers & VMs

brew install --cask docker
brew install --cask virtualbox

Database Tools

brew install postgresql
brew install mysql
brew install --cask dbeaver-community

API Development

brew install --cask postman
brew install httpie           # CLI HTTP client

Utilities

brew install --cask rectangle      # Window management
brew install --cask alfred         # Spotlight alternative
brew install --cask stats          # System monitor in menu bar
brew install htop                  # Process viewer

Mac-Specific Tweaks

Show Hidden Files

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
killall Finder

Faster Key Repeat

defaults write NSGlobalDomain KeyRepeat -int 1
defaults write NSGlobalDomain InitialKeyRepeat -int 10

Additional Resources

More places to find me
Mental Health
follow me on Mastodon