My initial settings on Mac

Source: Dev.to

Xcode Command Line Tools

xcode-select --install

Homebrew

1. Download the .pkg installer from the Homebrew website and install it.

2. Add Homebrew to your system PATH:

   eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

3. Verify the installation:

   brew doctor

   You should see “Your system is ready to brew.”

Install Core Development Tools

Git

brew install git

(Homebrew’s Git will be added to your PATH.)

Node.js and npm

brew update
brew install node

• This installs the LTS version of Node (≥ 18) and npm (v9+).

• Verify the version:

  node -v   # should be ≥ v20.9 for Next.js
  npm -v

System Python

macOS includes a system Python (e.g., 3.9.x). Check it with:

which python3
python3 --version

Do not modify the system Python. Instead, use an environment manager such as Miniconda to create isolated Python environments.

Miniconda

1. Download the GUI .pkg installer from the Miniconda website.

2. Run the installer.

3. Verify the installation:

   conda --version

Visual Studio Code

1. Download the VS Code installer from the official website (it is a .app file).
2. Open the downloaded file; it will launch the application.
3. Drag Visual Studio Code.app to the Applications folder in Finder to install it permanently.