Don't you just love the joy of opening a new MacBook box and setting up your favorite tools? The tools you choose to install really add to the experience. They can be very personal and show a lot about the type of person, and in my case, developer that I am.
Here is a short post about the first 10 tools I installed on my MacBook Pro 16" on Day 1.
I'll be recording a podcast on Real Talk JavaScript this coming week with some guests to share our first look experiences as developers on the new MacBook Pro 16". Be sure to check it out when it releases (by the end of Nov 2019)!
Ten Apps in Day 1
Here are the first things I installed on my new MacBook Pro 16". Your mileage may vary, of course.
0 - Code
VS Code is an essential tool for me. I use it for coding, writing, and as a scratch pad. I'm using it to write this!
I also installed a bunch of extensions (using a single extension called Settings Sync). But that's for another article.
1 - Alfred
Alfred is an extremely powerful spotlight-like app. You can do so much with this ... really. Check it out and explore the workflows. I use it to open apps, search my computer, kill processes, calculate, and more.
- Alfred App v4
- Free without the PowerPack
2 - Bartender
I hate clutter. When i record my screen I don't like seeing all of the icons in my top bar either. Bartender hides whatever I don't want to see, and makes it easily accessible when I do need them.
- Bartender
- $15
3 - Divvy
Divvy is an essential tool for me. I use it to program keyboard shortcuts to move my windows to predefined areas on the screen. I have 10 shortcuts currently that I use every single day.
- Divvy
- $13.99
4 - WiFi Signal
Nice app that shows the WiFi signal and a lot of details that the baked in wifi app doesn't show.
- WiFi Signal
- $4.99
5 - SnagIt
I've been using this tool for a decade and haven't found a reason to stop using it. Well worth the money.
- SnagIt
- $49.95
6 - Insomnia
I used to use PostMan, and it is indeed excellent. But I like Insomnia these days. Maybe because it has a cool name.
Free tier is all I need
7 - Amphetamine
I use this to keep my laptop screen visible so it does not timeout when I am presenting.
- Amphetamine
- Free
8 - Dropbox
I store many files here that I either need to share across machines or just want off my local machine.
- Dropbox
- Cost varies for your usage
9 - Chrome
The Chrome browser by Google.
- Chrome
- Free
Bonuses
- brew
- Azure Functions Core Tools
- node.js
- xcode
- oh my zsh
- 1 Password - $2.99/month
- Brave
- Office
- Docker
- Azure CLI
Oldest comments (104)
Really, no package manager?
Chrome for development or as your main browser?
homebrew is what I use, are there any others?
I listed homebrew in the bonus section. Just didn't get installed in the first ten
at least I am aware of fink finkproject.org/index.php?phpLang=en
But yeah, brew is what I use, either
Chrome primarily, though I also use Safari and Brave a little. Experimenting
Nice post John. Thanks!
What do you think about using Webstorm instead of VS Code? Why i would choose VS Code over Webstorm? (forget the price)
Note: I prefer Magnet (only $ 2,99) instead of Divvy.
I use Spectacle (spectacleapp.com/) although I just read on their site that it is no longer actively maintained. Anyhow, does the job 🤷♂️ and it is free
Totally agree
Same. Maybe there are better ones, but I am so used to it now and it does pretty much all I need for window management.
There are many good window tool options.
Personally I use Hammerspoon. It's a great scripting/automating tool. I has many more uses than window management but that's my prime usage
freemacsoft.net/tiles/
This one
This is sad news!
I discovered that the other week, found the spiritual successor is rectangle app - uses same shortcuts as spectacle (and is also free.)
Rectangle is the new Spectacle
It's a personal choice. How we define "better" defines what is important to us.
I think Webstorm is great. But I choose Code every morning.
We each use the tools we enjoy. I'm glad you enjoy Webstorm
This has got to be the most adult & mature way to handle differing opinions & preferences.
Takes notes
I second the vote on magnet. Amazing tool and a fait price.
Thanks.
Webstorm is great. I used to use it. But VS Code is my go-to the past few years. Love it and it gets better every day (literally with the insiders build). But choose what you like - it's a personal choice we all make
I've tried Hyperdock, Magnet, Spectacle, Divvy, and a few others. They are all okay. I liked how Divvy let me customize several areas with keystrokes. Others do too, but this is where I ended up.
I am using IntelliJ IDEA now for over a decade for all of my Java-Projects and while starting with Angular/IONIC, I felt in love with VS Code.
I tried a couple of times some projects in IDEA (which is the ulitmate Edition and contains the features of all other JetBrain IDEs). I love IDEA for it's productivity, but for me, VS Code beats it when it comes to the JavaScript/Node/NPM eco system.
(Running Magnet, but don't use it that often)
My prefered Rest Client is PAW, btw. I use it for almost every web project when I design the service and API layer and then add the web views.
I am really missing all this "extrract method/constant/variable" on VSCode, which is amazing for refactoring on all JetBrain IDE's.
Absolutely, the refactoring tools are outstanding!
Love magnet
We used both - and Divvy had many more benefits.
It sounds like a lot of people's problems would be solved with a tiling window manager.
I used to use Caffeine where you suggest Amphetamine. Caffeine doesn't seem to work on Catalina, so I use the He Man Protocol (open the YouTube video of HeMan singing What's Up for 10 hours an leave it in a tab somewhere). That's tragically inefficient, but, you know, it works.
I think Amphetamine replaced Caffeine
Indeed it did. Same developer, but Amphetamine has many more features than Caffeine...as the naming suggests. 😁
I use Vanilla to hide things. I wasn't aware of Bartender. Vanilla is a little more minimal from what I can tell. Maybe I'll check out Bartender.
Thanks. I hadn't seen this one ... I've been using bartender but will take a look at this.
I also use Vanilla. It's simple and gets the job done for around four bucks, I believe.
try dozer it is free
Today I learned ... Vanilla won't start if you automatically hide the menubar. This makes me sad.
Nice list! I began documenting my selection of apps into a public repository with Bash scripts a while ago. It's handy and compatible across different environments.
New Computer, Who Dis? – Setup new development box with a single script
New Computer, Who Dis?
This repository contains a set of scripts to bootstrap a new computer for development. Supported platforms are:
Standard Linux support will be added when I bother to start coding with one.
As usual with scripts like these, this probably won't work for you but feel free to adapt it to your needs. There's no license nor warranty at all.
Usage
Entrypoint is
./setup.sh. Execute it and let it roll!Other Apps
Not all applications are bundled here for cross-compatibility reasons. I install the following apps by hand.
thanks for sharing
This is amazing! I LOVE the name of it, "New Computer, Who Dis?" 🤣😍
This is handy to setup automatically a new MacBook
github.com/atomantic/dotfiles
yes, indeed.
The first app I install is caffeine. ☕
Ah nvm that's what amphetamine is for. I guess is stronger lol.
I think it replaced it on most recent macOS
Yep, Amphetamine is most definitely stronger than Caffeine. 😁
Haha, I also choose insomnia because it has cool names 😂
:)
Do you know you can hold the option key while clicking on the WiFi Symbol and it’ll give some more options. For sure not as much as WiFi Signal but it’s something
yeah, cool. thanks
Nice! There's a few things on here I haven't even heard of and will definitely have to check out.
However, I'm definitely more interested in knowing about Mac use at Microsoft. Obviously, some people have to have them because they're working on cross-platform apps, but is it common to see people just walking around on the MS campus carrying around a Mac? :P
AI see a lot of variety at Microsoft. Azure supports everything
Do you have any recommendations for learning more about using Azure for web development for Mac users? I've been interested in learning more about it, but now that I "officially" graduated from my full stack bootcamp, I have the time to invest in learning it. Thanks, in advance.
Hi Sherri. That is a great question. Let me think about this specifically from a mac user perspective and I'll write up a post about it after Thanksgiving. Sound good?
Thanks for reaching out!