I have to set up a MacBook Pro fairly often - when starting a new job and when buying a new personal computer. I created this article back in 2015 when I got my first Mac and have been updating it ever since with whatever I need as my job evolves. I'm primarily a full-stack web developer, so most of my needs will revolve around JavaScript/Node.js.
- Oct 19, 2020 To use Homebrew to install Visual Studio Code, run the following command. $ brew cask install visual-studio-code. Then to remove it, run the below command. $ brew cask uninstall visual-studio-code. Uninstalling Homebrew from mac. In case, if you don’t need the Homebrew anymore then you can use its uninstall script. First, download the.
 - Dismiss Join GitHub today. GitHub is home to over 50 million developers working together to host and review code, manage projects, and build software together.
 - Brew cask install visual-studio-code If you manually install Visual Studio Code, rather than using Homebrew, you will need to add the code executable to your PATH. To do this, start Visual Studio Code, open the command palette, and choose Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH. Installing Visual Studio Code to a USB Drive.
 
Visual Studio Code is a lightweight code editor with support for many programming languages through extensions. To install the latest version, use Homebrew: brew install -cask visual-studio-code macOS integration. Launch VS Code from the command line. After that, you can launch VS Code from your terminal: code. Will open VS Code. I currently install Visual Studio Code Insiders etc via Homebrew on MacOS, it'd be nice to be able to do the same with Edge Insiders. 2020)?brew cask install.
Getting Started
The setup assistant will launch once you turn the computer on. Enter your language, time zone, Apple ID, and so on. The first thing you should do is update macOS to get the latest security updates and patches.
Homebrew

Install the Homebrew package manager. This will allow you to install almost any app from the command line.
Make sure everything is up to date.
Install Apps
Here are some the programs I always install.
Don't install Node.js through Homebrew. Use nvm (below).
| Program | Purpose | 
|---|---|
| Visual Studio Code | text editor | 
| Google Chrome | web browser | 
| Firefox | web browser | 
| Rectangle | window resizing | 
| iTerm2 | terminal | 
| Docker | development | 
| VLC Media Player | media player | 
| Slack | communication | 
| Spotify | music | 
| Postgres | database | 
| Postico | database UI | 
| Postman | API tool | 
Shell

Catalina comes with zsh as the default shell. Install Oh My Zsh for sensible defaults.
Node.js
Use Node Version Manager (nvm) to install Node.js. This allows you to easily switch between Node versions, which is essential.
Install
Install the latest version.
Restart terminal and run the final command.
Confirm that you are using the latest version of Node and npm.
Update
For later, here's how to update nvm.
Change version
Here's how to switch to another version and use it.
And to set the default: Productivity tool for mac.
Git
The first thing you should do with Git is set your global configuration.
Input your config and create some aliases.
With the above aliases, I can run git s instead of git status, for example. The less I have to type, the happier I am.
SSH
Simplify the process of SSHing into other boxes. Create an SSH config file.
Add the following contents, changing the variables for any hosts that you connect to. Using the below will be the same as running ssh -i ~/.ssh/key.pem user@example.com.
Now just run the alias to connect.
Generate SSH key
You can generate an SSH key to distribute.
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Add key.
Settings
I don't like a lot of the Apple defaults so here are the things I always change.
To get the Home folder in the finder, press CMD + SHIFT + H and drag the home folder to the sidebar.
General
- Set Dark mode
 - Make Google Chrome default browser
 
Dock
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- Automatically hide and show Dock
 - Show indicators for open applications
 
Keyboard
- Key Repeat -> Fast
 - Delay Until Repeat -> Short
 - Disable 'Correct spelling automatically'
 - Disable 'Capitalize words automatically'
 - Disable 'Add period with double-space'
 - Disable 'Use smart quotes and dashes'
 
Security and Privacy
- Allow apps downloaded from App Store and identified developers
 - Turn FileVault On (makes sure SSD is securely encrypted)
 - Turn Firewall On (extra security measure)
 

Sharing
- Change computer name
 - Make sure all file sharing is disabled
 
Users & Groups
- Add 'Rectangle' to Login items
 

Defaults
Department head. A few more commands to change some defaults.
Application Settings
Chrome
- Turn off 'Warn before quitting'
 - Install uBlock Origin
 - Install React DevTools
 - Install Redux DevTools
 - Install JSONView
 - Install DevTools Theme - New Moon
 Settings
- Set theme to 'Dark'
 - Go to 
chrome://flagsand set Developer Tools Experiments to 'Enabled' - Go to Experiments and select 'Allow custom UI themes'
 
Visual Studio Code
- Press 
CMD + SHIFT + Pand click 'Install code command in PATH'. - Install Prettier
 - Install New Moon Theme
 - Install GitLens
 - Install Highlight Matching Tag
 - Install ESLint
 - Install Prettier
 Keyboard Shortcuts
- Copy Line Down - 
CMD + SHIFT + E - Delete Line - 
CMD + SHIFT + D - Reload Window - Remove Development Mode from When
 - Format Document - 
CMD + SHIFT + L 
- Copy Line Down - 
 
Rectangle
- Full Screen: 
CMD + SHIFT + '(prevents messing with other commands) - Left Half: 
CMD + OPTION + LEFT - Right Half: 
CMD + OPTION + RIGHT 
iTerm2
- Set tab to open in same location
 
Conclusion
That sums it up for my current preferences on setting up a MacBook Pro. I hope it helped speed up your process or gave you ideas for the next time you're setting one up.
Visual Studio Code is a lightweight code editor with support for many programming languages through extensions
Installation
To install the latest version, use Homebrew:
macOS integration
Launch VS Code from the command line.
After that, you can launch VS Code from your terminal:
code .will open VS Code in the current directorycode myfile.txtwill openmyfile.txtin VS Code
Useful Extensions
Python
Python - Python code highlighting
To enable auto-formatting on 'Save', i.e.
⌘ + S, configure the following:Change the default formatter to
Blackinstead ofAutopep8. Critical to avoid large diffs. Go to Preferences -> User Settings and update the settingpython.formatter.providertoBlackEnable
Format on SaveSetting: Editor: Format On Save setting on Code -> Preferences -> Settings
JavaScript
- ESLint - Useful to check JavaScript errors and helps in auto-formatting the code
 - Prettier - JavaScript code formatter
 
SQL
Markdown
- Markdown Preview - Read Markdown files in VSCode
 
GitLens
- GitLens - Supercharge the Git capabilities built into VSCode
 
Docker
- Docker - Create, manage, and debug images from within VSCode
 
JSON
- Paste JSON as Code - Infers types from sample JSON data, then outputs strongly typed models and serializers for working with that data in your desired programming language
 
Live Server
- Live Server - Launches a local development server with live reloading for both static and dynamic
 
VS Code Icons
- vscode-icons - Adds unique icons to distinguish different file extensions (easier to glance through your directories)
 
