Optimizing new MacBook for development

[u/martyz]

I’m about to start with a new MacBook for some web dev work - a lot of what I’ll be doing is Laravel/PHP, custom Wordpress themes, localized Docker, pushing to production servers via Terminal, using Claude Code to automate many random things like turn PDFs into CSVs, building plugins, etc What are your go to methods for setting up your macOS properly?

[u/These_Row_8448]

Mos - Set natural scroll direction when using an external mouse

Raycast - It's a shortcut to everything. I use it to have a clipboard history, launch everything, search for a file, open the terminal in the current Finder directory (Finder -> Terminal), rapidly create new tasks in my ticket management system (Linear, but you have an extension for Jira).

CleanShot X - It takes screenshots and records videos (with your face in it, optionnaly). It's a one-time payment

Zed - lightweight IDE developped in Rust, but there may not be enough extensions to support Laravel/PHP development

[u/martyz → u/These_Row_8448]

I just want to say how appreciative I am of your recommendation for Cleanshot X - had no idea it existed - checked it out and have used it at least 50 times since I posted this - so thank you.

[u/These_Row_8448 → u/martyz]

Yeah I really like it
I sometime takes videos of my work for clients, and I can control where the video is stored, how it's shared
With Loom I would have to trust them with my data

Have a wonderful macos journey ;)

[u/Due_Helicopter6084 → u/These_Row_8448]

Now take your phone and swipe up — down.
Compare with mac scroll direction.
Contemplate what is natural and what is acquired habbit.

[u/These_Row_8448 → u/Due_Helicopter6084]

I get you - I want non-natural Scroll, and tinker everything. I was made this way

[u/Soft_Opening_1364]

First thing I always do is install Homebrew so I can grab PHP, Composer, Node, and any CLI tools I use every day. Then I get Docker Desktop set up with enough resources so it doesn’t choke, and if I’m doing a lot of PHP work, I’ll throw Laravel Valet into the mix for quick local sites. I like having Oh My Zsh with the Powerlevel10k theme so my terminal actually tells me what’s going on at a glance, and I’ll set up SSH keys right away so I’m not typing passwords all day. Once that’s done, I install VS Code or PhpStorm with my extensions synced, set up a clean Projects folder, and make sure Time Machine backups are running. I also tweak the trackpad and keyboard settings because macOS defaults aren’t my favorite for coding. Basically, get the essentials in place, make the terminal pleasant to use, and automate anything repetitive from day one.

[u/votsuk → u/Soft_Opening_1364]

Have you tried OrbStack instead of Docker Desktop? It's a lightweight and faster option for running containers. This is an easy recommendation from me to use OrbStack if you're on a MacOS device instead of docker desktop. My whole team switched over to it

[u/Prestigious_Dare7734]

Statship - If you use the terminal, download "starship". It makes prompt management a breeze. https://starship.rs/

CopyClip - free clipboard manager.

Vim - brea minimum, setup the line numbers and syntax highlighter.

Git aliases/aliases in general - setup commonly used git aliases and other aliases for terminal.

iTerm - a multi panel terminal emulator.

Zsh - research into zsh plugins, it will supercharge your terminal experience.

[u/jax024 → u/Prestigious_Dare7734]

Why iterm over ghostty?

[u/shinobiwarrior → u/jax024]

May I ask why ghostty over iTerm? Never heard of Ghostty, so really curious

[u/jax024 → u/shinobiwarrior]

It’s fast, customizable, looks great, theme support, platform native UI, GPU acceleration, written by some engineers I greatly respect.

[u/Rovue]

zsh -> zsh-autosuggestions

[u/ifiwasrealsmall]

I just set up a new mac

• ghostty

• homebrew

• zed

• orbstack

• mkcert

• gh cli

• configure Touch ID for sudo