Mac Configuration

If I ever need to start over, the first apps I'd install and settings I'd configure.

Looking into the old quarry from just in front of Quarry Works Theatre in Vermont.

Last updated:March 15, 2023

Table of Contents

Last configured: M4 Mac — March 24, 2026

Quickstart

New machine? Minimums for getting up and running:

Package Managers

Installing stuff begins with installing a way to install stuff.

Tool	Install method
Homebrew	brew.sh
yarn	todo: install steps here Then get `pnpm` using `corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate`
nvm	Standard install → then get node via `nvm install node`

Apps: Essential

App	Purpose
1Password	Password manager — connect everywhere
Arc	Browser
Spotify	Music

Continued Setup

Time to spare? Continue the setup with these.

Apps: All

App	Purpose	Notes
Alfred	Improved search	Alfred config: - Suppress banner - Shortcuts: access Apple Shortcuts via `sc` - Wordsmith (thesaurus): trigger with `the` Known issue: Alfred not populating inline options (e.g. Power Thesaurus, Wordsmith)
Better Touch Tool	Custom trackpad/mouse commands
boringNotch	Temporary file shelf in notch area
AltTab	`cmd+tab` expands minimized windows	Set Select previous window to `shift+tab` in Settings → Shortcuts
MonitorControl	External monitor brightness	`brew install --cask monitorcontrol`
LibreOffice	Writing documents / spreadsheets
VS Code	Web / React Native development	Extensions: _ Markdown Inline Preview → `markdown-inline-preview` _ cSpell → todo: add ID here
Obsidian	Relational markdown notes with strong data ownership
Logseq	Outliner for notetaking; data ownership
Xcode	iOS simulators, App Store certificates

More like utilities

App	Purpose
TRex	OCR via screenshot
ActivityWatch	Time tracking
noTunes	Prevent Apple Music from opening; installed with `brew install --cask notunes`

Browser Extensions (chromium)

1Password
Adblock Plus
Star History / GitHub Star History
YouTube Default Playback Speed (default 2×)
Youtube Playback Speed Control
Auto High Quality for YouTube
ReaderView
Antigram — Instagram modifier
Better History

Mac

System Preferences

Trackpad: Disable swipe between pages (two fingers) — prevents accidental back navigation
Calendar: Add to Spotlight privacy list — to prefer Fantastical instead
Mission Control: Disable Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use Settings → Desktop & Dock → uncheck the option

Random Code Modifications

WebP Image Conversion

Saved as a Quick Action in ~/Library/Services. Source

for f in "$@"; do
  ext="${f##*.}"
  ext_lower=$(echo "$ext" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')

  case "$ext_lower" in
    heic|heif)
      tmp="/tmp/$(basename "${f%.*}").png"
      /usr/bin/sips -s format png "$f" --out "$tmp" >/dev/null
      /opt/homebrew/bin/cwebp -q 80 -quiet "$tmp" -o "${f%.*}.webp"
      rm -f "$tmp"
      ;;
    jpg|jpeg|png|tiff)
      /opt/homebrew/bin/cwebp -q 80 -quiet "$f" -o "${f%.*}.webp"
      ;;
    *)
      # skip unsupported formats
      ;;
  esac
done

Customizing Settings by App

LibreOffice

Assign strikethrough to Cmd+Shift+X by going to Tools → Customize → Keyboard

VS Code Config

cSpell settings.json config:

"cSpell.enabledFileTypes": {
  "*": true,
  "json": false,
  "jsonc": false,
  "log": false
}

Terminal Setup

iTerm2 — terminal emulator
Oh My Zsh — shell framework (setup guide)
- PowerLevel10K — prompt theme (include VS Code terminal font)
- zsh-syntax-highlighting
- zsh-completions