macOS Setup Guide

Updated as of 02 October 2024.

Here are some recommended utility applications and quality-of-life tweaks from an occasional macOS user.

Buying a Mac

• Do not buy an Intel Mac unless you need to run applications that just won't work on Apple Silicon.
• Based on past trends, it is reasonable to expect new Apple Silicon Macs to receive about 7 years of new macOS releases.
• Refurbished pricing is usually cheaper than education pricing.
• RAM is not user-expandable, consider buying more than what you need in the short-term.
• SSD storage is also not user-expandable, but can be mitigated with external USB SSD drives.
• The used market can be risky (scams!), here are a couple of guides on what caveats to look out for.

Recommendations

System Preferences

Wi-Fi or Ethernet

• Consider using a privacy-oriented public DNS like DNS0 or Quad9.

Firewall

• Under Network -> Firewall, turn on your Firewall.
• If you do not use sharing services, block all incoming connections on your Firewall under Options....

Encryption

• You may use FileVault to protect your data in case your computer gets misplaced or stolen. Ensure external backups are in place before turning on encryption.

Disabling Unwanted Features

• Disable Bluetooth.
• Disable Ask Siri.
• Disable Displays have separate Spaces.
• Disable Play sound on startup.
• Disable Put hard disks to sleep when possible.

Using a non-Apple layout keyboard

• Under Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> Modifier Keys, select your keyboard, set Option key to Command, and Command key to Option.

Applications

The following applications do not require user signups (except for Xcode, which requires an Apple ID, and Microsoft Office, which requires a Microsoft account). All applications are free of charge (except for Microsoft Office).

General Applications

• KeepingYouAwake
  • Prevents your Mac from going into sleep mode.
  • Set it to autostart on boot.
• LinearMouse
  • Allows you to set scroll direction for the trackpad and mouse independently.
  • Set it to autostart on boot.
• Rectangle
  • Enables snapping of windows to screen edges, like in Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11+. macOS 15 comes with window snapping built-in.
  • Set it to autostart on boot.
• Macs Fan Control
  • Enables manual control of fan speed. Also shows internal temperature.
  • Set it to autostart on boot.
• AVG Mac Security
  • Third-party antivirus software for macOS is a controversial topic.
  • However, the good old days when Macs "don't get viruses" are long gone.
  • Nonetheless, your best defense is to practice good cyber hygiene.
• VLC Player
  • Video/audio player that can play almost any format you throw at it.
• Firefox or Chrome
  • For users who do not like Safari.
  • At minimum, install uBlock Origin, it blocks ads and harmful websites.
• Microsoft Office or LibreOffice or iWork
  • The last 2 are free, but are not 100% compatible with Microsoft Document formats.

Developer Oriented Applications

• Xcode
  • The official macOS IDE.
  • The bundled version of git may slow down zsh startup; to fix this, you can replace it with git from Homebrew or MacPorts. For example (MacPorts), run sudo port install git
• Homebrew
  • Package manager with large repository but drops support for obsolete macOS versions.
• MacPorts
  • Package manager with small repository but has better support for obsolete macOS versions.
  • Basic commands: sudo port selfupdate sudo port upgrade outdated sudo port install python312 port installed sudo port select --set python3 python312
  • Note: After installing Python via MacPorts, append this line export PATH="$HOME/Library/Python/3.12/bin:$PATH" to your ~/.zshrc file.
• Oh My Zsh
  • Popular framework for managing your zsh configuration. It may slow things down a bit.
• Ultimate vimrc
  • Popular framework for managing your vim configuration. Also slows things down.
  • Use python3 update_plugins.py to update vimrc plugins.

Disable Terminal Session Restoration

By default, macOS Terminal restores previous sessions on application launch. This can be disabled via the following commands.

touch ~/.bash_sessions_disable
echo "SHELL_SESSIONS_DISABLE=1" >> ~/.zshenv

(For Intel Mac users only) Using newer macOS versions on unsupported Apple hardware

• The following patchers only work on Intel Apple hardware. Apple Silicon is not supported.
• There will be compatibility and stability issues. No warranty.
• dosdude1's patchers for macOS 10.12 to macOS 10.15.
• OpenCore Legacy Patcher for macOS 11+.

Useful links

• Macstrategy - Information and news about Apple products with a specific slant to the European Union, but is also mostly applicable to international users.
• macOS Security and Privacy Guide - Collection of techniques for improving the security and privacy of Apple Silicon Mac computers.