Mac for Web Development (2025)

A curated, opinionated checklist for spinning up a fresh macOS machine in 2025.

Goal: Be fully productive (coding, design, comms) in ~30 minutes with repeatable commands and sensible defaults.

System & UX Setup

1. Update macOS

Ensures the latest security patches, Xcode SDKs, and firmware.

Open System Settings → General → Software Update.
Install any pending updates, then reboot before continuing.

2. Install Homebrew

The package manager for everything that isn't on the Mac App Store.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"   # add to ~/.zprofile

3. System Apps

Core utilities that shape the desktop experience.

brew install --cask ghostty raycast shottr rectangle maccy monitorcontrol

Raycast - Spotlight-replacement launcher for faster search, powerful extensions, and clipboard history
Ghostty - Minimal GPU-accelerated terminal with blazing-fast, TTY-style text rendering
Rectangle - Window manager for quick ⌥⌘→ tiling, multi-display-aware
Shottr - Screenshot utility with instant markup, redaction, and auto-copy to clipboard
Maccy - Clipboard manager with plain-text history synced across apps

Ghostty config (~/.config/ghostty/config.toml):

font-family='Menlo'
theme='flexoki-dark'
font-size=16
window-padding-balance=true
mouse-hide-while-typing=true

Development Environment

4. Developer Tooling

xcode-select --install
brew install git nvm gh vercel-cli wget miniconda nvim

git - version control
nvm - per-project Node versions
gh - GitHub CLI for PRs & issues
vercel-cli - instant Next.js deploys
wget - classic download tool
miniconda - lightweight Python env manager

5. Install Node via NVM

nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts
nvm alias default lts/*

6. Development Apps

brew install --cask cursor zed httpie linear-linear

Cursor - AI-pair-programmer built on VS Code
Zed - ultra-fast collaborative editor by Atom's creators
HTTPie Desktop - delightful REST & GraphQL client
Linear - native macOS wrapper for Linear issue tracker

7. Oh My Zsh (+ Plugins)

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

# Plugins:
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions \
  ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting \
  ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

.zshrc snippet:

plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting)

8. Install pnpm

npm install -g pnpm@latest-10

9. Install Bun

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

10. Neovim via Kickstart

git clone https://github.com/nvim-lua/kickstart.nvim.git \
  "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}"/nvim

11. Handy Aliases (in .zshrc)

# PNPM
alias p='pnpm'
alias pb='pnpm build'
alias pd='pnpm dev'

# Git
alias gs='git send'

# Bun
alias b='bun'
alias bb='bun build'
alias bd='bun dev'

12. Global Git Config

[alias]
    send = "!f() { git add . && git commit -m \"${1:-wip}\" && git push; }; f"
[user]
    name  = Bridger Tower
    email = bridgertower@gmail.com
[init]
    defaultBranch = main

Productivity & Collaboration

13. Messaging Apps

brew install --cask discord slack whatsapp

14. Productivity Apps

brew install --cask notion obsidian notion-calendar ticktick spotify

15. Design Apps

brew install --cask adobe-creative-cloud figma imageoptim fontbase

Other Apps to install via Apple App Store

Bear: Markdown editor for macOS
Davinci Resolve: Video editing software for macOS

AI & Automation

16. AI / Local LLM Apps

brew install --cask claude chatgpt ollama

17. Claude Code CLI

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

macOS Customization

Automated macOS Defaults Script

Use the following script to set macOS defaults for a cleaner and more developer-friendly experience.

Run each command individually, or save them in a shell script (e.g., macos-defaults.sh) and execute it with bash macos-defaults.sh.

# Show all filename extensions in Finder
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleShowAllExtensions -bool true

# Set Finder view to Column by default
defaults write com.apple.finder FXPreferredViewStyle -string "clmv"

# Show Path Bar in Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowPathbar -bool true

# Set fast key repeat rate
defaults write NSGlobalDomain KeyRepeat -int 1
defaults write NSGlobalDomain InitialKeyRepeat -int 10

# Disable auto-correct
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticSpellingCorrectionEnabled -bool false

# Always expand save and print panels by default
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool true
defaults write NSGlobalDomain PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool true

# Prevent Photos from opening automatically when devices are plugged in
defaults -currentHost write com.apple.ImageCapture disableHotPlug -bool true

# Set screenshot location to ~/Desktop/Screenshots
mkdir -p ~/Desktop/Screenshots
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Desktop/Screenshots

# Save screenshots in PNG format
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type -string "png"

# Restart Finder to apply changes
killall Finder

These defaults help streamline Finder, boost typing responsiveness, and reduce distractions. Customize further as needed!

Design Generalist