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authorChristian Cleberg <hello@cleberg.net>2024-04-29 14:18:55 -0500
committerChristian Cleberg <hello@cleberg.net>2024-04-29 14:18:55 -0500
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--- a/content/blog/2024-01-09-macos-customization.md
+++ b/content/blog/2024-01-09-macos-customization.md
@@ -5,42 +5,38 @@ description = ""
draft = false
+++
-I have been using macOS more than Linux lately, so I wrote this post to
-describe some simple options to customize macOS beyond the normal
-built-in settings menu.
+I have been using macOS more than Linux lately, so I wrote this post to describe
+some simple options to customize macOS beyond the normal built-in settings menu.
-While not all-encompassing, the options below should be a good start for
-anyone looking to dive down the rabbit hole.
+While not all-encompassing, the options below should be a good start for anyone
+looking to dive down the rabbit hole.
# Basics
## Package Management
To install a lot of software on macOS, you will need
-[Homebrew](https://brew.sh/). You can use their installation script to
-get started. Simply open the `Terminal` application and paste
-the following snippet:
+[Homebrew](https://brew.sh/). You can use their installation script to get
+started. Simply open the `Terminal` application and paste the following snippet:
```sh
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
```
-This will allow you to easily install and manage applications and other
-software easily through the `brew` command.
+This will allow you to easily install and manage applications and other software
+easily through the `brew` command.
## Terminal
-If you\'re serious about customizing your macOS system, I highly
-recommend installing a terminal emulator that you like and if you\'re
-not comfortable on the command line yet, start learning. A lot of
-customization options require you to edit hidden files, which is easiest
-in a terminal.
+If you're serious about customizing your macOS system, I highly recommend
+installing a terminal emulator that you like and if you're not comfortable on
+the command line yet, start learning. A lot of customization options require you
+to edit hidden files, which is easiest in a terminal.
-There are options like iTerm2, Kitty, Alacritty, Hyper, Warp, or the
-built-in Terminal app.
+There are options like iTerm2, Kitty, Alacritty, Hyper, Warp, or the built-in
+Terminal app.
-I use [iTerm2](https://iterm2.com/), which can be installed with
-Homebrew:
+I use [iTerm2](https://iterm2.com/), which can be installed with Homebrew:
```sh
brew install iterm2
@@ -48,39 +44,37 @@ brew install iterm2
![iTerm2](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20240109-macos-customization/iterm2.png)
-To install color schemes, such as the Dracula scheme shown in the
-screenshot above, you visit [iTerm
-Themes](https://iterm2colorschemes.com/) and follow their installation
-instructions to install any of the themes.
+To install color schemes, such as the Dracula scheme shown in the screenshot
+above, you visit [iTerm Themes](https://iterm2colorschemes.com/) and follow
+their installation instructions to install any of the themes.
# Desktop
## Window Management
-[yabai](https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai) is a tiling window manager
-for macOS. While other window managers exist, I found that most of them
-struggled to create logical layouts and to allow me to easily move
-windows around the screen.
+[yabai](https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai) is a tiling window manager for
+macOS. While other window managers exist, I found that most of them struggled to
+create logical layouts and to allow me to easily move windows around the screen.
-Some advanced settings for yabai are only available if partially disable
-System Integrity Protection (SIP). However, I chose not to do this and
-it hasn\'t affected my basic usage of yabai at all.
+Some advanced settings for yabai are only available if partially disable System
+Integrity Protection (SIP). However, I chose not to do this and it hasn't
+affected my basic usage of yabai at all.
Refer to the [yabai
wiki](https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai/wiki/Installing-yabai-(latest-release))
-for installation instructions. You will need to ensure that yabai is
-allowed to access the accessibility and screen recording APIs.
+for installation instructions. You will need to ensure that yabai is allowed to
+access the accessibility and screen recording APIs.
-You can see a basic three-pane layout atuomatically configured by yabai
-for me as I opened the windows below.
+You can see a basic three-pane layout atuomatically configured by yabai for me
+as I opened the windows below.
![yabai window
manager](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20240109-macos-customization/yabai.png)
## Keyboard Shortcuts
-[skhd](https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd) is a simple hotkey daemon
-that allows you to define hotkeys in a file for usage on your system.
+[skhd](https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd) is a simple hotkey daemon that
+allows you to define hotkeys in a file for usage on your system.
Installation is simple:
@@ -89,11 +83,10 @@ brew install koekeishiya/formulae/skhd
skhd --start-service
```
-After installation, be sure to allow `skhd` access to the
-accessibility API in the macOS privacy settings.
+After installation, be sure to allow `skhd` access to the accessibility API in
+the macOS privacy settings.
-You can configure your hotkeys in the `~/.config/skhd/skhdrc`
-file:
+You can configure your hotkeys in the `~/.config/skhd/skhdrc` file:
```sh
nano ~/.config/skhd/skhdrc
@@ -112,14 +105,13 @@ cmd + shift - return : /Applications/LibreWolf.app/Contents/MacOS/librewolf
## Widgets
[uebersicht](https://github.com/felixhageloh/uebersicht/) is a handy
-desktop-based widget tool with a plethora of community-made widgets
-available in the [widgets
-gallery](https://tracesof.net/uebersicht-widgets/). You can also write
-your own widgets with this tool.
+desktop-based widget tool with a plethora of community-made widgets available in
+the [widgets gallery](https://tracesof.net/uebersicht-widgets/). You can also
+write your own widgets with this tool.
To install, simply download the latest release from the [uebersicht
-website](https://tracesof.net/uebersicht/) and copy it to the
-Applications folder.
+website](https://tracesof.net/uebersicht/) and copy it to the Applications
+folder.
See below for an example of the
[Mond](https://tracesof.net/uebersicht-widgets/#Mond) widget in action.
@@ -137,22 +129,20 @@ You can browse a discussion where various users shared their
for inspiration or to copy their dotfiles.
See below for a quick (& slightly broken) copy of
-[zer0yu\'s](https://github.com/zer0yu/dotfiles) SketchyBar
-configuration.
+[zer0yu's](https://github.com/zer0yu/dotfiles) SketchyBar configuration.
![SketchyBar](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20240109-macos-customization/sketchybar.png)
## Dock
The easiest way to customize the dock is to install
-[uBar](https://ubarapp.com/), which uses a Windows-like menu bar as the
-default style.
+[uBar](https://ubarapp.com/), which uses a Windows-like menu bar as the default
+style.
-However, the built-in macOS dock cannot be disabled and can only be set
-to \"always hidden\". This can be annoying as it will pop out any time
-your mouse cursor passes closely to the dock edge of the screen. Because
-of this, I simply use the built-in dock instead of customizing it with
-third-party software.
+However, the built-in macOS dock cannot be disabled and can only be set to
+"always hidden". This can be annoying as it will pop out any time your mouse
+cursor passes closely to the dock edge of the screen. Because of this, I simply
+use the built-in dock instead of customizing it with third-party software.
Regardless, see below for the default installation style of uBar.
@@ -160,22 +150,21 @@ Regardless, see below for the default installation style of uBar.
## Application Icons
-You can also customize the icon of any application in macOS, which will
-show up in Finder, the Dock, Launchpad, search results, etc. I recommend
-using [macOSicons](https://macosicons.com/) to download icons you want,
-and then apply them by following this process.
-
-1. Open the Finder application.
-2. Navigate to the `Applications` folder.
-3. Right-click an application of your choice, and select
- `Get Info`.
-4. Drag the image you downloaded on top of the application\'s icon at
- the top of information window (you will see a green \"plus\" symbol
- when you\'re hovering over it).
-5. Release the new icon on top of the old icon and it will update!
-
-You can see an example of me dragging a new `signal.icns`
-file onto my Signal.app information window to update it below:
+You can also customize the icon of any application in macOS, which will show up
+in Finder, the Dock, Launchpad, search results, etc. I recommend using
+[macOSicons](https://macosicons.com/) to download icons you want, and then apply
+them by following this process.
+
+1. Open the Finder application.
+2. Navigate to the `Applications` folder.
+3. Right-click an application of your choice, and select `Get Info`.
+4. Drag the image you downloaded on top of the application's icon at the top of
+ information window (you will see a green "plus" symbol when you're
+ hovering over it).
+5. Release the new icon on top of the old icon and it will update!
+
+You can see an example of me dragging a new `signal.icns` file onto my
+Signal.app information window to update it below:
![replace macOS
icons](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20240109-macos-customization/replace_icon.png)