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

Last configured: M4 Mac — March 24, 2026

Package Managers

Tool	Install method
Homebrew	brew.sh
pnpm	`corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate`
nvm	standard install; then get node via `nvm install node`
yarn

CLI Tools

Tool	Purpose
`git`	Version control
`gh`	GitHub CLI
`python`	Check with `python3 --version`

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

Essential Apps

App	Purpose
1Password	Password manager — connect everywhere
Arc	Browser
Spotify	Music
VS Code	Web / React Native development
Xcode	iOS simulators, App Store certificates
Notion	Notes
Obsidian	Relational markdown notes with strong data sovereignty

Mac Behavior

App	Purpose	Notes
Alfred	Improved search	See config below
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`

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)

Chrome Extensions

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

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

Utilities

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

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

VS Code Extensions

Extension	ID
Markdown Inline Preview	`markdown-inline-preview`
cSpell	—

cSpell settings.json config:

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