Setup My MacBook

This repo will be used to configure a MacBook from scratch, it can serve as a guide for a brand-new computer or after a factory reset.

ℹ️ Reset MacBook

NOTE: These steps were made for macOS Monterey, it may not work with other macOS versions.

MacBook Specifications

Model: MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)

Processor: 2,8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3

Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 630 1536 MB

macOS Updates

When starting your mac for the first time, you should always check if there are any software updates available. You can find these updates by going to System Preferences > Software Updates.

System Preferences

When setting up a mac, there are also some system preferences I like to change.

General

System Preferences > General > Appearance > Dark

System Preferences > General > Prefer tabs > always when opening documents

Uncheck System Preferences > General > Close windows when quitting an app

System Preferences > General > Show scroll bars: > When scrolling

Dock & Menu Bar

System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Double-click a window's title bar to minimize

System Preferences - Dock & Menu Bar - Clock - Show Date Always

Uncheck System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Show recent applications in Dock

Check System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Now Playing > Show in Menu Bar

Check System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Minimise windows into application icon

Check System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Wi-Fi > Show in Menu Bar

Check System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Bluetooth > Show in Menu Bar

Check System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Sound > Show in Menu Bar always

Mission Control

Check System Preferences > Mission Control > Group windows by application

Uncheck System Preferences > Mission Control > Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent used

Hot Corners:

Left Inferior Corner: Launchpad
Right Inferior Corner: Lock Screen

Displays

System Preferences > Displays > Resolution > Scaled

System Preferences > Displays > Resolution > More Space

Keyboard

Uncheck System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard > Adjust keyboard brightness in low light

System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard > Turn keyboard backlight off after 1 min of inactivity

System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard > Press fn key to Show emojis & Symbols

System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard > Press and hold fn key to Show F1, F2, etc. Keys

Uncheck System Preferences > Keyboard > Text > Correct spelling automatically

Uncheck System Preferences > Keyboard > Text > Capitalize words automatically

Uncheck System Preferences > Keyboard > Text > Add period with double-space

Trackpad

Check System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click > Look up & data detectors

Check System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click > Secondary click

Check System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click > Tap to click

More Gestures

Uncheck only System Preferences > Trackpad > More Gestures > Launchpad

Security & Privacy

System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General > Require password after 5 seconds after sleep or screen saver begins

System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall > Turn On Firewall

Finder

Preferences > General > New Finder windows show > Documents

Check Preferences > General > Open folders in tabs instead of new windows

Check Preferences > Advanced > Show all filename extensions

Preferences > Advanced > When performing a search > Search the Current Folder

Show/Hide hidden files in folders: Command + Shift + .

Sound

Uncheck Preferences > Sound > Sound Effects > Play sound on startup

Commands and Shortcuts

Mac

On the Mac, the "command" key (⌘) replaces the "ctrl" key in Windows. Here are the main combinations that I use:

@: Option + 2
Change current app: CMD + Tab
Change tab: CMD + Option + Left/Right Arrow
Clear cache (in browser): CMD + Shift + R
Close app: CMD + Q
Close window: Shift + CMD + W
Enter full screen mode: Control + CMD + F
Force quit app: CMD + Option + Esc (use only when an app doesn't respond)
Go forward/backward word by word: Option + Left/Right Arrow (+ Shift to select)
Go to the beginning/end of a line: CMD + Left/Right Arrow (+ Shift to select)
Hide app: CMD + H
Minimize app: CMD + M
New tab: CMD + T
New window: CMD + N
{}: Shift + Option + 8/9
(): Shift + 8/9
Spotlight Search (currently I'm using Alfred 5 as a replacement): CMD + Space bar
Take Screenshot: CMD + Shift + 5
Screenshot entire screen: CMD + Shift + 3
Screenshot separate app: CMD + Shift + 4 + Space
Screenshot selected area: CMD + Shift + 4 + Click & Hold & Drag Mouse
Change desktop window: Control + Left/Right Arrow
Go to Folder window: CMD + Shift + G

Brave Browser

Show tabs in fullscreen mode: CMD + SHIFT + F

Visual Studio Code

Show/hide terminal: CMD + J

Terminal

Setup Script

My setup.sh file can be found at the root of this repo, running the script will:

Install HomeBrew
Install brew formulæs and casks that I use
Configure Git
Installing Oh My Zsh
Create a SSH key to be added to GitHub and add it to the Mac’s Keychain

iTerm2

My iTerm2 preferences file can be found here.

Color presets

I am currently using the BlulocoDark color preset.

All my iTerm2 color presets can be found here.

Configurations

Enable usage of option + command + left/right or command + left/right keyboard shortcuts: Preferences > Profiles > Keys > Key Mappings > Presets > Natural Text Editing
Check Preferences > Profiles > Session > status bar enabled
Preferences > Profiles > Terminal > Scrollback lines: 4000
Preferences > General > Terminal > Startup > Window restauration policy: Use System Window Restauration Setting
Preferences > Profiles > General > Working Directory > Reuse previous session's directory
Preferences > Profiles > Text > Cursor > Vertical bar
Check View > Show Tabs in Fullscreen

Font

The font I use is Fira Code.

Shell

Oh My Zsh

Oh My Zsh is an open source, community-driven framework for managing your Zsh configuration.

.zshrc

My .zshrc file can be found here. To edit the zsh config file, run:

vim ~/.zshrc

.vimrc

My .vimrc file can be found here. In alternative, this is the file content:

syntax on
set hlsearch

To edit the vim config file, run:

vim ~/.vimrc

Zsh Spaceship prompt

Spaceship is a minimalistic, powerful and extremely customizable Zsh prompt. It combines everything you may need for convenient work, without unnecessary complications, like a real spaceship.

Auto Suggestions Zsh Plugin

zsh-autosuggestions

HomeBrew

HomeBrew is a free and open-source software package management system that simplifies the installation of software on Apple's operating system, macOS, as well as Linux.

Before you install HomeBrew though you need to install the xcode command line utilities:

xcode-select --install

We can then install brew with:

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

Brew

Here are some of the brew formulæs that I have (more to be added):

git
htop
wget
curl
telnet
tree
trash
pdfgrep
make
screen

Brew Cask

visual-studio-code
brave-browser
docker
rectangle
postman
notion
iterm2
firefox
discord
the-unarchiver
vlc
tg-pro
webtorrent
spotify
teamviewer
caffeine
stats
alfred
stremio
kap
maccy
iina
whatsapp
adobe-acrobat-reader
monitorcontrol
macs-fan-control

Apps

These are the apps that I have currently installed on my mac. Whenever I can, I will install these apps from HomeBrew.

Endpoint Security VPN
Spotify
CleanMyMac X
Todoist
Speedtest
Adobe Photoshop 2021
Slack
The Unarchiver
Visual Studio Code
Twitter
Discord
Messenger
iTerm2
Parcel
TeamViewer
Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) - honestly, google docs serves perfectly, not installing those anymore
Microsoft Teams (infelizmente)
Brave Browser
Postman
Zoom
Autenticação.gov
WhatsApp
VLC
Docker
MusicHarbor
Rectangle
ClickUp
TG Pro (control fans)
Spark
OneDrive
Bitwarden
IntelliJ IDEA
WebTorrent
Firefox
Codye
Cent
Notion
DevToys
Todoist

Brave

⚠️ To access certain websites functionalities (ex. Streaming services), it's necessary to deactivate Brave shields on that websites.

Extensions

Here are the chromium extensions that I use:

AutoHideDownloadsBar

Katalon Recorder (Selenium tests generator)

FireShot

Dark Reader

Teleparty

Search Engine Shortcuts

On Brave, go to Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and site search > Site search, and add the desired shortcuts:

Site or page	Shortcut	Search query (URL with %s in place of query)
YouTube	-y	https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s
Rotten Tomatoes	-r	https://www.rottentomatoes.com/search?search=%s
Goodreads	-g	https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=%s&qid=
Wook	-w	https://www.wook.pt/pesquisa?keyword=%s
Fnac	-f	https://www.fnac.pt/SearchResult/ResultList.aspx?Search=%s&sft=1&sa=0
IMDb	-i	https://www.imdb.com/find/?q=%s&ref_=nv_sr_sm

VS Code

My Visual Studio Code preferences file can be found here.

Extensions

Color Theme

Currently using One Dark Pro Darker color theme

Clean My Mac X

I use CleanMyMac X to (ironically) clean my mac from time to time. It is a good app uninstaller as well.

Dock

Touch Bar not working bug

Sometimes, if the touch bar stops working, restarting it may solve the problem:

sudo pkill TouchBarServer

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 71 Commits
images		images
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
setup.sh		setup.sh

eduardosantoshf/setup-my-macbook

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