macOS

Related:

• Hardware

My primary OS. Currently running macOS Sonoma 14. This wiki page contains most of the apps I have used at one point or another across my different Macbooks.

(*) = My favorites

Configuration

Disable System Services

• Disabling and Enabling System Integrity Protection
• Disable Gatekeeper: sudo spctl --master-disable

Dotfiles

These are probably out of date, but they give a general idea of how I configure my machine.

# ~/.zshrc
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH"
export PATH="$HOME/.emacs.d/bin:$PATH"
export EDITOR="/opt/homebrew/bin/emacs -nw"
ZSH_THEME="bureau"
plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions)
source $ZSH/oh-my-zsh.sh

# ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

# ~/.config/skhd/skhdrc
cmd - return : /Applications/iTerm.app/Contents/MacOS/iTerm2
cmd + shift - return : /Applications/LibreWolf.app/Contents/MacOS/librewolf

# ~/.config/yabai/yabairc
yabai -m config                                 \
    mouse_follows_focus          off            \
    focus_follows_mouse          off            \
    window_origin_display        default        \
    window_placement             second_child   \
    window_zoom_persist          on             \
    window_shadow                on             \
    window_animation_duration    0.0            \
    window_animation_frame_rate  120            \
    window_opacity_duration      0.0            \
    active_window_opacity        1.0            \
    normal_window_opacity        0.90           \
    window_opacity               off            \
    insert_feedback_color        0xffd75f5f     \
    split_ratio                  0.50           \
    split_type                   auto           \
    auto_balance                 off            \
    top_padding                  15             \
    bottom_padding               15             \
    left_padding                 15             \
    right_padding                15             \
    window_gap                   10             \
    layout                       bsp            \
    mouse_modifier               fn             \
    mouse_action1                move           \
    mouse_action2                resize         \
    mouse_drop_action            swap
echo "yabai configuration loaded.."

Software

Browsers

• Librewolf (*) - Custom version of Firefox, focused on privacy and security
  • Bitwarden - An open source password manager
  • Dark Reader - Dark mode for all the websites
  • Libredirect - Automatic web redirections
  • Strongbox - Keepass password manager for iOS & macOS
  • uBlock Origin - Free, open-source ad content blocker
• Ungoogled Chromium - Google Chromium, sans integration with Google
• eww - Emacs Web Wowser, for TUI browsing

Communications

• Element (*) - Matrix's default GUI client
• gomuks - A terminal based Matrix client
• Thunderbird (*) - An open source email client by Mozilla
• Signal (*) - A simple, powerful, and secure messenger

Development

• Docker Desktop - Docker containers for your desktop
  • open-webui - User-friendly WebUI for LLMs
• iTerm2 (*) - The best terminal for macOS, hands down
• Podman Desktop (*) - Open source tool for containers and Kubernetes
• Xcode - Apple's IDE
• zsh (*) - My shell preference due to its plugin and theme community
  • zsh-autosuggestions
    • Fish-like autosuggestions for zsh
  • zsh-syntax-highlighting
    • Fish shell like syntax highlighting for Zsh

Editors

• Doom Emacs (*) - An Emacs framework, great for working in org-mode
• Obsidian - A nice Markdown-based editor based on a "vault" structure. Offers a paid sync solution and community extensions
• Standard Notes - A simple text editor focused on privacy and security. Offers a paid sync solution and community extensions
• VSCodium - VS Code without proprietary blobs

Media

• Luminar - Luminar offers top-notch photo editing features
• Minecraft - Block mining simulator
• NetNewsWire - A free and open source RSS reader for Mac, iPhone, and iPad
• Plex (*) - Desktop client for the Plex Media Server
• Steam - The top gaming marketplace for computers
• Transmission (*) - A Fast, Easy and Free Bittorrent Client
• VLC - A free and open source cross-platform multimedia player

Package Management

• Homebrew (*) - The Missing Package Manager for macOS (or Linux)
• MacPorts - A system to compile, install, and manage open source software

Utilities

• Bartender 5 (*) - Easy control and customization over the native macOS menu bar
• BetterDisplay - Allows you to tweak a ton of features of built-in and external screens, such as scaling, configuration overrides, and color/brightness upscaling
• Bitwarden - An open source password manager
• LittleSnitch - Shows all network connections on your Macbook, including system and privileged services
• MicroSnitch - Camera & microphone monitoring and alterting service
• Mullvad (*) - A private VPN service
• Ollama - Run Llama 2, Code Llama, and other models locally on your machine
  • Ollama Swift - User Interface made for Ollama.ai using Swift
• OrbStack - A fast and convenient GUI to manage Docker contains and Linux VMs
• Raycast - A collection of tools and shortcuts, an alternative to Spotlight
• skhd (*) - Simple hotkey daemon for macOS
• Strongbox - Keepass password manager for iOS & macOS
• Syncthing (*) - Continuous file synchronization
• TinkerTool - Unlock hidden configuration options for macOS
• yabai (*) - Automatic window tiling
• yt-dlp - A youtube-dl fork with additional features and fixes