#+date: <2024-01-09 Tue 00:00:00>
#+title: Practical Guide to macOS Customization
#+description: Discover effective macOS customization tips and tools to personalize your system beyond default settings, including terminal tweaks, window management, and app icons.
#+slug: macos-customization
#+filetags: :macos:customization:guide:

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.

* Basics

** Package Management

To install a lot of software on macOS, you will need [[https://brew.sh/][Homebrew]]. You can use their
installation script to get started. Simply open the =Terminal= application and
paste the following snippet:

#+begin_src sh
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
#+end_src

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.

There are options like iTerm2, Kitty, Alacritty, Hyper, Warp, or the built-in
Terminal app.

I use [[https://iterm2.com/][iTerm2]], which can be installed with Homebrew:

#+begin_src sh
brew install iterm2
#+end_src

To install color schemes, such as the Dracula scheme, you visit [[https://iterm2colorschemes.com/][iTerm Themes]] and
follow their installation instructions to install any of the themes.

* Desktop

** Window Management

[[https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai][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.

Refer to the [[https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai/wiki/Installing-yabai-(latest-release)][yabai wiki]] for installation instructions. You will need to ensure
that yabai is allowed to access the accessibility and screen recording APIs.

** Keyboard Shortcuts

[[https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd][skhd]] is a simple hotkey daemon that allows you to define hotkeys in a file for
usage on your system.

Installation is simple:

#+begin_src sh
brew install koekeishiya/formulae/skhd
skhd --start-service
#+end_src

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:

#+begin_src sh
nano ~/.config/skhd/skhdrc
#+end_src

For example, I have hotkeys to open my browser and terminal:

#+begin_src conf
# Terminal
cmd - return : /Applications/iTerm.app/Contents/MacOS/iTerm2

# Browser
cmd + shift - return : /Applications/LibreWolf.app/Contents/MacOS/librewolf
#+end_src

** Widgets

[[https://github.com/felixhageloh/uebersicht/][uebersicht]] is a handy desktop-based widget tool with a plethora of
community-made widgets available in the [[https://tracesof.net/uebersicht-widgets/][widgets gallery]]. You can also write your
own widgets with this tool.

To install, simply download the latest release from the [[https://tracesof.net/uebersicht/][uebersicht website]] and
copy it to the Applications folder.

See below for an example of the [[https://tracesof.net/uebersicht-widgets/#Mond][Mond]] widget in action.

** Status Bar

[[https://github.com/FelixKratz/SketchyBar][SketchyBar]] is a customizable replacement for the macOS status or menu bar.

You can browse a discussion where various users shared their [[https://github.com/FelixKratz/SketchyBar/discussions/47?sort=top][configurations]] for
inspiration or to copy their dotfiles.

** Dock

The easiest way to customize the dock is to install [[https://ubarapp.com/][uBar]], 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.

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
[[https://macosicons.com/][macOSicons]] 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!