# My macOS Setup in 2024 > My 2024 Mac setup after moving to an M3 MacBook: Git-based profile switching, Raycast, OrbStack, and the apps that stayed in daily use. **Published:** 2024-07-28 **Canonical:** **Translations:** [English](https://grishy.dev/en/posts/my-macos-setup-2024.md), [Русский](https://grishy.dev/ru/posts/my-macos-setup-2024.md) ![My macOS Setup in 2024](https://grishy.dev/_astro/iewek-gnos-hhUx08PuYpc-unsplash.D8gZ73kK.avif) --- I decided to write this post mainly for myself because the previous one, written in 2022, turned out to be useful. So I am doing it again after moving to a new laptop. Compared to 2022, I upgraded to a laptop with an M3 chip. It works well, most programs already support Apple Silicon, and Rosetta 2 handles the remaining x86 applications. I no longer use separate macOS user profiles. Instead, I switched to different Git configurations that activate automatically based on the directory path. Moving to a single-profile setup saved disk space and eliminated the friction of switching profiles. Most of the issues with multiple profiles came from Homebrew and the way it installs apps. ## macOS Settings Most settings synchronized automatically through my Apple account, so there was not much to adjust after logging in. As usual, I also turn off long animations and the blue input-language icon that appears in text fields. ```sh # Disable the blue language icon sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/UIKit.plist redesigned_text_cursor -dict-add Enabled -bool NO ``` For some reason, not all settings sync through the Apple account. I also always remap language switching to `Caps Lock`. ## Browsers From 2023 to the middle of 2024, I used Firefox, but now I have switched back to Google Chrome. Previously, Firefox had fewer pop-ups and warnings with my local network compared to Chrome. I frequently encountered this because I have a home lab. I prefer Chrome DevTools, and almost all extensions work as well as they do in Firefox. Screen sharing was the final push: Firefox makes it noticeably more awkward, so I switched for now. 1. Chrome - main browser 2. Firefox - secondary browser, used once a week 3. Min - minimal browser for screenshots and screen sharing 4. Arc - I like the idea, but extension support never felt right to me. I rarely open it now, mostly to see how it is changing. ### Browser Extensions 1. [Bitwarden](https://bitwarden.com/) - password manager 2. [StreetPass for Mastodon](https://streetpass.social/) - parses social profiles on the page. 3. [OneTab](https://www.one-tab.com/) - allows saving open tabs into a local store and reopening them later; I use it like a reading list. 4. [Tab Sorter](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/tab-sorter/nlnkcinjjeoojlhdiedbbolilahmnldj?hl=en) - sorts tabs for OneTab. 5. [uBlock Origin](https://ublockorigin.com/) - makes browsing the internet more comfortable, although I have [Pi-hole](https://pi-hole.net/). 6. [Simple Translate](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/simple-translate/) - the most elegant extension for translation. I often use it to translate words from YouTube. 7. [Clickbait Remover for YouTube](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/clickbait-remover-for-you/omoinegiohhgbikclijaniebjpkeopip?hl=en) 8. [Enhancer for YouTube](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/enhancer-for-youtube/ponfpcnoihfmfllpaingbgckeeldkhle) 9. [SponsorBlock for YouTube](https://sponsor.ajay.app/) ## Applications Some apps are installed through Homebrew, while others I download directly. If an app has a built-in self-update mechanism, I prefer to install it manually instead of managing it through Homebrew. In that case, Homebrew will simply skip it after the first installation. Below, I combined the contents of `/Applications` with the output of `brew leaves` and added a short note on why I use each app. ### GUI Applications 1. [Adobe Photoshop](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html) - used occasionally for image editing 2. [DaVinci Resolve](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve) - video editing 3. [Anki](https://apps.ankiweb.net/) - flashcards for learning new things in the morning 4. [DataGrip](https://www.jetbrains.com/datagrip/) - connecting to databases 5. [DB Browser for SQLite](https://sqlitebrowser.org/) - local SQLite viewer with handy `Blob` preview 6. [Discord](https://discord.com/) - calls with friends 7. [Docker](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/) - occasional local builds 8. [Endel](https://endel.io/) - offline background music 9. [Flow](https://www.flow.app/) - Pomodoro timer 10. [GoLand](https://www.jetbrains.com/go/) - Go language code refactoring 11. [Grammarly Desktop](https://www.grammarly.com/desktop) - because I don't know English perfectly. Mostly turned off because it's annoying. 12. [Hoppscotch](https://hoppscotch.io/) - REST API client, a replacement for Postman 13. [Horo](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/horo-timer-for-menu-bar/id1437226581?mt=12) - timer for cooking 🥘 14. [iA Writer](https://ia.net/writer) - cozy Markdown editor. I'm writing this text in it now\... 15. [IINA](https://iina.io/) - superb minimalistic video player 16. [kitty](https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/) - replacement for the default terminal 17. [Lens](https://k8slens.dev/) - Kubernetes cluster management 18. [Lookupper](https://lookupper.com/) - perfect solution for word translation based on image recognition. It recognizes the word under the cursor using the native macOS dictionary. 19. [Microsoft Office](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/products-apps-services) - bureaucracy... 20. [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/) - knowledge base and daily notes 21. [OrbStack](https://orbstack.dev/) - Docker replacement, but I seldom use it 22. [Parallels Desktop](https://www.parallels.com/) - virtual machines 23. [qBittorrent](https://www.qbittorrent.org/) - torrent client 24. [Raycast](https://www.raycast.com/) - Spotlight replacement 25. [Rectangle](https://rectangleapp.com/) - window manager in macOS with hotkeys 26. [Shottr](https://shottr.cc/) - screenshot tool with notes 27. [Slack](https://slack.com/) - communication tool for work 28. [Spark](https://sparkmailapp.com/) - used only for parsing invites, due to issues with Thunderbird 29. [Sublime Merge](https://www.sublimemerge.com/) - UI for Git 30. [Screen Studio](https://www.screen.studio/) - quick video screen recording 31. [Syncthing](https://syncthing.net/) - local Dropbox replacement 32. [Thunderbird](https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/) - main email client 33. [Telegram](https://telegram.org/) - main communication tool 34. [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) - main text editor 35. [VLC](https://www.videolan.org/) - for rare video formats or converting from one format to another 36. [WhatsApp](https://www.whatsapp.com/download) - chat with "plumbers" 37. [WireGuard](https://www.wireguard.com/) - VPN to personal "cloud" server, always on 38. [Wireshark](https://www.wireshark.org/) - network traffic debugging 39. [Zed](https://zed.dev/) - a promising code editor 40. [zoom.us](https://zoom.us/) - calls, meetings, calls... ### CLI Applications 1. `ansible` - setup of servers 2. `awscli` - file download from AWS S3 3. `bat` - colorized `cat` 4. `btop` - laptop stats and network usage 5. `eza` - replacement for `ls` 6. `fzf` - search by `Ctrl`+`R` in history 7. `hashicorp/tap/terraform` - AWS, GCP cloud setup 8. `helix` - modern terminal editor as a replacement for neovim 9. `htop` - similar to `btop`, but for CPU and disk only 10. `jq` - JSON pretty print 11. `lnav` - view systemd logs; not working with read-only file systems by default 12. `miniserve` - HTTP file server to share something in a local network 13. `neovim` - terminal code editor 14. `nmap` - check IP addresses and ports in the local network, when I am too lazy to open the router UI 15. `openfortivpn` - to connect to work VPN because the official fortivpn is awful 16. `oven-sh/bun/bun` - replacement for Node.js for me 17. `qemu` - Linux virtual machines for work 18. `radare2` - reverse engineering of binary files 19. `ripgrep` - useful `grep` 20. `sshs` - TUI that shows a list of SSH servers from the config 21. `teamookla/speedtest/speedtest` - to verify the Internet speed in a hotel 22. `teleport` - server access for the work lab 23. `yazi` - terminal file manager 24. `yt-dlp` - YouTube video downloader 25. `zellij` - replacement for `tmux`, useful because it is a single binary file ## Games I installed most of the games primarily for language learning, not for relaxation in the evening. Enjoyment is just a bonus, not the main goal. While playing, I translate unfamiliar words using the aforementioned Lookupper and create cards in Anki. Once I have enough cards, I run my Python script that adds IPA and audio pronunciations from the Cambridge Dictionary. This process can be disruptive, but I always have a history of the clipboard and can add everything later. In general, I do not play often and take long breaks. I might skip games for almost the entire year and then play every evening for a month. ### Installed and played 1. **Disco Elysium** - probably one of the most thoughtful game worlds that I remember. I have completed half of the game. 2. **Life Is Strange** - I started playing it after the game's release with a physical notebook and pen. However, I haven't finished it yet and am thinking about finally completing it sometime. 3. **Sid Meier's Civilization VI** - a really interesting game to play with a few friends, but each game session is very time-consuming. ### Installed and not played 1. **Baldur's Gate 3** 2. **Pathfinder: Kingmaker** 3. **Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous** 4. **Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition** - you can assume I didn't really play it, since the last time was a long time ago. ## Useful Links I've collected several useful links to blog posts about macOS setups. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. ## Conclusion I hope this text helps me again the next time I set up macOS. I prefer setting up phones and computers from scratch instead of restoring a full dump. That does not mean I ignore backups, of course. I stopped using or replaced quite a few programs. I also keep fewer VM tools and rarely used CLI utilities installed now. --- **Thumbnail:** Photo by [Iewek Gnos](https://unsplash.com/@imkirk) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/macbook-pro-on-white-wooden-desk-hhUx08PuYpc).