Mac OS X Setup

Facing the setup of a new machine (or the need to reinstall after a fresh OS install or the like), here's a very brief and basic list of the usual suspects, related to the setup of a Mac computer to work with (mostly related to a scripting languages context).

Homebrew & Package Managers

The package manager is the default first thing I always install. Simply following the default steps. Homebrew downloads and installs the Command Line Tools for Xcode, so we're all good. Homebrew Cask is implemented as part of Homebrew now, so we're cask-enabled and ready from the start for our tapping. Finally, brew-cask-upgrade provides upgrade-like capabilities to cask, and we're all set.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
brew tap buo/cask-upgrade

If some previously purchased software from the Mac App Store needs to be included, we can use mas to ease the installs.

brew install mas

My curated list of apps (and all that jazz)

Once we have homebrew, cask (and mas if needed) we're ready to go (and yes, these lists might be scripted for some automation to install all, take this as just a curated set):

Essential Utilities

# Efficiency booster - install this first!
brew install alfred

Development Environment

Terminal & Shell

# Terminal
brew install iterm2

# Shell & enhancements
brew install zsh zsh-completions zsh-syntax-highlighting zsh-autosuggestions
#Check plugins, templates, themes, etc. at:
#https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh

# Terminal utilities
brew install tree
brew install wget
brew install jq
brew install tldr
brew install thefuck
brew install go2shell
brew install shuttle

Version Control

# it GUI tools
brew install sourcetree
brew install tower
brew install rowanj-gitx # Legacy: Still functional but less actively maintained

Languages & Runtimes

# Python
brew install python
brew install python3
brew install pyenv
brew install anaconda

# Node.js
brew install node
brew install yarn

# Go
brew install go

# PHP
brew install composer

# Gradle (JVM)
brew install gradle

IDEs & Editors

# Modern editors
brew install visual-studio-code

# JetBrains suite
brew install datagrip
brew install intellij-idea
brew install phpstorm
brew install pycharm
brew install rubymine
brew install webstorm

# Other modern editors
brew install sublime-text

# Legacy/Specialized editors
brew install textmate
brew install atom # Legacy: Discontinued by GitHub in 2022, consider VS Code instead
brew install brackets # Legacy: Discontinued by Adobe in 2021

API & Development Tools

# API development & testing
brew install rapidapi
brew install postman

# Network & debugging
brew install charles
brew install ngrok

# Documentation
brew install dash

# Utilities
brew install gas-mask

Databases

brew install sequel-ace # Modern alternative to sequel-pro
brew install elasticsearch

DevOps & Infrastructure

# Cloud & CLI
brew install awscli

# Containers
brew install docker
brew install kitematic

# Infrastructure as Code
brew install vagrant
brew install virtualbox
brew install packer
brew install terraform
brew install vault

# File transfer & storage
brew install cyberduck

# VPN & Security (for dev environment access)
brew install tunnelblick
brew install cloudflare-warp

AI & ML Tools

# AI Assistants
brew install claude
brew install claude-code
brew install chatgpt
brew install chatgpt-atlas

# AI-Enhanced IDEs
brew install cursor
brew install windsurf

# Local AI models
brew install ollama # Run DeepSeek, Llama, Llava, and other models locally

Browsers

brew install arc
brew install google-chrome
brew install brave-browser
brew install firefox

Communication & Collaboration

Team Collaboration

# Productivity & boards
brew install slack
brew install microsoft-teams
brew install miro

Video Conferencing

brew install zoom
brew install webex
brew install krisp

Messaging

brew install telegram
brew install whatsapp

Social Media

mas install 409789998 #Twitter

Productivity & Organization

Task & Project Management

# Note-taking & documentation
brew install notion
brew install obsidian
brew install typora
mas install 1091189122 #Bear
brew install evernote

Utilities

# Screen capture & annotation
mas install 417602904 #CloudApp
brew install skitch

# System utilities
mas install 937984704 #Amphetamine
brew install bartender
mas install 441258766 #Magnet

Cloud Storage

brew install dropbox
brew install google-drive
brew install amazon-photos

Creative & Media

Photo & Design

brew install adobe-creative-cloud
brew install affinity-designer
brew install affinity-photo
brew install gimp

Reading

brew install calibre
brew install kindle

Music & Audio

brew install spotify
mas install 897118787 #Shazam

Video

brew install vlc

Utilities

brew install the-unarchiver

Other Applications

# Blog & web publishing
brew install hugo

# Mapping
brew install google-earth

# Office suite
brew install microsoft-office

# VPN & Privacy (general use)
brew install nordvpn

Xcode

# Xcode - Will take a long time to download. Only install if needed for iOS/macOS development.
mas install 497799835