Computer

Use Apple's command-line tools for Git and the usual build tools. If xcode-select -p fails, install them and wait for the installer to finish:

xcode-select --install

Use Homebrew for system-wide command-line tools. If it isn't installed, run its official installer:

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

Follow the installer's next steps to make brew available in the current shell. Other useful tools are coreutils, shellcheck, and tldr; install them when needed.

Use Starship with its default prompt. Enable it in ~/.zshrc as shown under Shell.

brew install starship

Use fzf for fuzzy history and file search. Enable its Zsh integration as shown under Shell.

brew install fzf

Use GNU sed in place of the macOS version. The path configuration under Shell makes it the default.

brew install gnu-sed

Install desktop apps from their official downloads. I use Ghostty as my terminal. Use Uses for the rest of my apps.

Use Zsh with Starship's default prompt, fzf's shell integration, and ~/bin for personal scripts. GNU sed should take precedence over the macOS version.

~/.zprofile

Load Homebrew from its standard Apple Silicon or Intel location, then set up the path:

if [[ -x /opt/homebrew/bin/brew ]]; then
  eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"
elif [[ -x /usr/local/bin/brew ]]; then
  eval "$(/usr/local/bin/brew shellenv)"
fi

typeset -U path
path=("$HOME/bin" "$(brew --prefix)/opt/gnu-sed/libexec/gnubin" $path)
export PATH

~/.zshrc

Enable completion, Control-R for history search, and Control-T for file paths.

autoload -Uz compinit && compinit
source <(fzf --zsh)
eval "$(starship init zsh)"

Create the scripts directory and an empty ~/.hushlogin to hide the last-login message:

mkdir -p "$HOME/bin"
touch "$HOME/.hushlogin"

Use merge-based pulls, show branches without a pager, and automatically set the upstream on the first push of a new branch.

~/.gitconfig

Merge these settings into the global configuration. Keep my existing user.name and user.email; on a fresh setup, use Mads Hartmann as the name and get the email from me.

[pull]
    rebase = false
[pager]
    branch = false
[push]
    autoSetupRemote = true
[alias]
    b = branch
    c = commit
    st = status
    s = switch
    co = checkout
    unstage = reset HEAD --
    stats = diff --stat
    mylog = "!git log --author=\"$(git config user.name)\""
    tidy = "!git branch | grep -E -v 'main' | xargs git branch -d"

The less obvious aliases:

• unstage <file>: remove changes from the index, keeping the working copy.
• stats: summarize unstaged changes; add --cached for staged changes.
• mylog: show commits matching my configured name.
• tidy: attempt to delete local branches with -d, excluding names containing main. Git refuses unmerged or checked-out branches. This is a command for me to run, not a setup step.

I use 1Password to manage my SSH keys.

~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict

Add these shortcuts for apps that use the standard macOS text system:

{
    "~d" = "deleteWordForward:";
    "^w" = "deleteWordBackward:";
    "~f" = "moveWordForward:";
    "~b" = "moveWordBackward:";
}

Option-D deletes the next word, Control-W deletes the previous word, and Option-F / Option-B move forward / backward by a word. Relaunch apps after changing the file; editors with their own keybinding systems may handle these shortcuts differently.