Post-Mac-Setup: One Script to Bootstrap a New Mac

Every time I set up a new Mac — or nuke and reinstall — I go through the same tedious ritual: install Homebrew, then brew install fifty packages one by one, download apps, configure the shell, set defaults. It takes hours and I always forget something.

So I wrote a single Bash script that does everything. One command, one file, fully idempotent.

Post-Mac-SetupMIT

01. Quick Start

Rerunning is safe — Homebrew skips already-installed packages, and shell configs are updated in-place using marker-based injection.

02. What It Installs

CLI Tools

The script installs everything I need for hardware design, software development, and general productivity:

GUI Apps

Shell Environment

The script sets up Oh My Zsh with Powerlevel10k and configures:

• Plugins: zsh-autosuggestions, zsh-syntax-highlighting, zsh-completions, fzf
• Aliases: eza as ls, bat as cat, fd as find, dust as du, btm as top, difft as diff, plus git shortcuts
• Config files: ~/.zshrc, ~/.zsh_paths, ~/.zsh_aliases (cleanly separated)

03. Design Decisions

Why a Single File?

No framework, no dotfile manager, no symlinks. Just one Bash script you can curl and run. The tradeoff is less modularity — but for a personal setup script, simplicity wins.

Marker-Based Injection

This is the part I'm most proud of. Shell config blocks are wrapped in markers:

Anything you add outside these markers is preserved across reruns. This means you can customize your .zshrc freely and still rerun the script without losing your changes. It's idempotent in the truest sense.

CLI Flags

Examples:

04. How It Works

1. Preflight — verifies internet connectivity, installs Xcode Command Line Tools and Homebrew
2. Install — taps third-party repos, installs formulae, casks, and npm globals
3. Configure — sets up shells in /etc/shells, configures Git, initializes Rust, fzf, and MacTeX
4. Shell Config — writes ~/.zsh_paths, ~/.zsh_aliases, and ~/.zshrc using marker-based block injection that preserves your own additions between runs
5. macOS Defaults — applies .DS_Store prevention on network and USB volumes
6. Cleanup — runs brew cleanup and exports a Brewfile snapshot

05. Post-Install

A few things still need manual steps after the script finishes:

1. Restart your terminal (or exec zsh)
2. Run p10k configure to set up the Powerlevel10k prompt
3. Set iTerm2 font to MesloLGS Nerd Font (Preferences > Profiles > Text > Font)
4. Verify Homebrew versions: which git, which python3, which zsh
5. Sign in to apps: 1Password, Setapp, Tailscale, GitHub Desktop

Could these be automated too? Maybe. But they require GUI interaction or credentials, so I'm fine leaving them manual.

06. Try It

Clone it, swap in your own packages, and never manually set up a Mac again: