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diff --git a/blog/macos/index.org b/blog/macos/index.org deleted file mode 100644 index 37aca9d..0000000 --- a/blog/macos/index.org +++ /dev/null @@ -1,200 +0,0 @@ -#+title: macOS: Testing Out A New OS -#+date: 2021-02-19 -#+description: A retrospective on my migration from Linux to macOS. -#+filetags: :apple: - -* Diving into macOS -After spending nearly 15 years working with Windows and 8 years on -Linux, I have experienced macOS for the first time. By chance, my spouse -happened to buy a new MacBook and gifted me their 2013 model. Of course, -I still consider my Linux desktop to be my daily driver and keep Windows -around for gaming needs, but over the past week I've found myself using -the MacBook more and more for things that don't require gaming specs or -advanced dev tools. - -* Initial Thoughts -Before I move on to the technical aspects of my set-up, I want to take -some time and express my thoughts on the overall OS. - -#+caption: macOS Desktop -[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210219-macos-testing-out-a-new-os/macos-desktop.png]] - -As expected, the initial computer setup is a breeze with Mac's guided -GUI installer. - -The desktop itself reminds me of GNOME more than anything else I've -seen: even Pantheon from [[https://elementary.io/][ElementaryOS]], which -people commonly refer to as the closest Linux distro to macOS. The -desktop toolbar is great and far surpasses the utility of the GNOME -toolbar due to the fact that the extensions and icons /actually work/. I -launch macOS and immediately see my shortcuts for Tresorit, Bitwarden, -and Mullvad pop up as the computer loads. - -Even further, the app dock is very useful and will be yet another -familiarity for GNOME users. I know many people like panels instead of -docks, but I've always found docks to have a more pleasing UI. However, -I had to disable the "Show recent applications in Dock" preference; I -can't stand items taking up precious screen space if I'm not currently -using them. On that same note, it's taking me some time to get use to -the fact that I have to manually quit an app or else it will still stay -open/active in the dock, even if I've closed out all windows for that -app (e.g. Firefox). - -Overall, I'm having a lot of fun and for users who spend a large -majority of their time performing basic tasks like web browsing, -writing, watching media, etc., macOS is a fantastic option. - -The rest of this post explains the technicalities of how I set up my CLI -environment to make me feel more at-home, similar to the environments I -set up on Fedora, Ubuntu, etc. - -* Making it Feel Like Home -If you're someone who uses Linux primarily, no doubt your first thought -when booting macOS will be the same as mine was: "Where is the terminal -and how do I set up my favorite utilities?" - -Luckily, macOS hasn't completely hidden away the development tools from -the average user. You can easily find the Terminal app in the Launchpad -area, but it's probably not what you're used to. I was surprised (and -happy) to see that the default shell is =zsh=, the shell I use on all of -my Linux distros. However, the commands are not the same - even the ones -you may think are native to the shell. Commands like =dir= do not exist, -so other native commands like =ls -la= or =pwd= are more useful here. - -With only a few minutes of installing and tweaking a few packages, I was -able to recreate a terminal environment that I feel very comfortable -using. See the image below for a preview of the iTerm2 app with a split -view between my macOS desktop shell and an SSH session into my server. - -#+caption: iTerm2 -[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210219-macos-testing-out-a-new-os/iterm2.png]] - -* Xcode -My first step was to search the web for any hints on how to get =zsh= -back up to the state I like, with extensions, themes, etc. My first step -was to install the CLI tools for -[[https://developer.apple.com/xcode/][Xcode]], Apple's suite of -development tools. - -#+begin_src sh -sudo xcode-select -r -#+end_src - -#+begin_src sh -sudo xcode-select --install -#+end_src - -* Homebrew -Next up is to install [[https://brew.sh][Homebrew]], a nifty package -manager for macOS. - -#+begin_src sh -/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" -#+end_src - -I ran into a permission error when installing Homebrew: - -#+begin_src sh -Error: Failed to link all completions, docs and manpages: - Permission denied @ rb_file_s_symlink - (../../../Homebrew/completions/zsh/_brew, /usr/local/share/zsh/site-functions/_brew) -Failed during: /usr/local/bin/brew update --force --quiet -#+end_src - -I found that the following permission modification worked like a charm. -However, I noted that some users online discussed the fact that this -solution may not work if your system has multiple users who use -Homebrew. - -#+begin_src sh -sudo chown -R $(whoami) $(brew --prefix)/* -#+end_src - -Next up is to ensure Homebrew is updated and cleaned. - -#+begin_src sh -brew update -#+end_src - -#+begin_src sh -brew cleanup -#+end_src - -* iTerm2 -Now that I've installed the basic utilities for development, I moved -onto installing iTerm2, a much better terminal than the default. - -#+begin_src sh -brew install --cask iterm2 -#+end_src - -I also used the =Make iTerm2 Default Term= and -=Install Shell Integration= options in the iTerm2 application menu to -make sure I don't run into any issues later on with different terminals. - -We will also install =zsh= so we can use it in iTerm2. - -#+begin_src sh -brew install zsh -#+end_src - -* Oh-My-Zsh -I've shown the great aspects of [[https://ohmyz.sh][Oh My Zsh]] in other -blog posts, so I'll skip over that speech for now. Simply install it and -run an update. - -#+begin_src sh -sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/master/tools/install.sh)" -#+end_src - -#+begin_src sh -omz update -#+end_src - -Finally, restart the iTerm2 application to ensure all changes go into -effect. - -* Oh-My-Zsh Themes -Let's change the theme of the terminal to make it a little more -friendly. - -#+begin_src sh -open ~/.zshrc -#+end_src - -The third section of this file should contain a line like the code -below. Change that theme to -[[https://github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/wiki/Themes][any theme you want]], -save the file, and exit. - -#+begin_src sh -ZSH_THEME="af-magic" -#+end_src - -After changing the =.zshrc= file, you'll need to close your terminal and -re-open it to see the changes. Optionally, just open a new tab if you're -using iTerm2, and you'll see the new shell config. - -* Oh-My-Zsh Plugins -Of course, my customization of =zsh= would not be complete without -[[https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions][zsh-autosuggestions]]. -This will bring up commands you've run in the past as you type them. For -example, if you've run =ssh user@192.168.1.99= before, the terminal will -show this command as soon as you start typing it (e.g. =zsh u=), and you -can hit the right arrow to autocomplete the command. - -#+begin_src sh -git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions -#+end_src - -#+begin_src sh -open ~/.zshrc -#+end_src - -#+begin_src sh -# Scroll down the script and edit this line to add zsh-autosuggestions -plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions) -#+end_src - -Remember: After changing the =.zshrc= file, you'll need to close your -terminal and re-open it to see the changes. Optionally, just open a new -tab if you're using iTerm2, and you'll see the new shell config. |