First published: 11/11/2024
Every few years I get a shiny new MacBook. Either I’ve upgraded my trusty MacBook Pro for a newer, faster, shinier model, or I’ve started at a company that supplies me with my dedicated work machine.
I know folks who like to clone a customised Linux distro, or restore from a backup, but I take joy in setting up a machine manually from a clean slate. Over the years, I’ve become particular about how I like my machine setup, from which trusted applications to install, through to personalised handy shortcuts I can’t live without. On the flipside, I get to shed the cruft that’s managed to squat rent-free on my old machine.
Let’s start with the settings built in to the MacBook. The focus here is to improve security, privacy, and reduce distractions.
There are also a few personal preferences I like to set:
Here, I take stock of all the software I use on a regular basis as someone who uses a device both for personal enjoyment, but also for web development.
These are software I install regardless of how I expect to use my machine on a day-to-day basis. Programs like Slack won’t make the list because it’s likely, but not guaranteed, to be a work requirement.
It’s a common joke, that Safari’s only job is to install a better browser. In my case, it’s four better browsers.
alias.co=checkout
alias.ci=commit
alias.br=branch
alias.st=status
alias.po=push -u origin HEAD
alias.rect=for-each-ref --sort=committerdate --count=10 --format='%~(refname:short)' refs/heads/
alias.cb=!sh -c 'git co $(git rect | fzf)'If you enjoyed this article, then I figure you like to be kept in the loop with web development tips. If so, the Component Odyssey newsletter might be right up your alley.