After your Apple® arrives, what next?
The very first things one should do on OS X are system updates, Homebrew setup, install Java, install GNU system tools, , install favorite editor, setup the shell & configure the bash_profile.
System Update
Before you start the 30 minute timer…
Connect to the Internet
Unplug everything except the power supply (no external drives, no usb keyboards/mice, etc.)
Select ‘’ > ‘About This Mac’ > ‘Software Update’
Install all available updates.
Start the 30 minute timer now!
Install xcode
Open Terminal and paste this into the prompt:
xcode-select --install
Agreement to the licensing is required:
xcodebuild -license
Type: ‘agree’
Set up Homebrew
Everyone needs an elegant, simple, speedy way to manage and install GUI applications.
Open Terminal and paste this into the prompt:
ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
Source the brew path by adding the following to /Users/<user>/.bashrc
# source the brew path export PATH="/usr/local/sbin:$PATH" # increase the size of your history export HISTFILESIZE=10000000 # commands that start with a space won't be written into history export HISTCONTROL=ignorespace
Test the installation with
brew doctor
Read the output, and correct any errors.
Set .bash_profile to use .bashrc
Open /Users/<user>/.bash_profile and paste this into the file:
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then source ~/.bashrc fi
Save and close. To understand why, read this post (later).
Get the most up-to-date formulae (software packages)
Open Terminal and paste this into the prompt:
brew update
Install Java
The best approach for Java is to use the binaries provided by Oracle but install them using Homebrew, and select the version of Java in use with jenv.
The current version of java is output with this command:
java -version
Open Terminal and paste this into the prompt:
brew tap caskroom/cask brew install brew-cask brew update && brew upgrade brew-cask && brew cleanup brew install https://raw.github.com/gcuisinier/jenv/homebrew/jenv.rb
Source jenv automatically by adding the following to /Users/<user>/.bashrc
# ensure jenv is available if which jenv > /dev/null; then eval "$(jenv init -)"; fi
Look for available versions of java by pasting this into the prompt:
brew cask search java
Add two new versions by pasting these lines into the prompt:
brew cask install java6 brew cask install java7
Notify jenv of the newly installed java versions
jenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_76.jdk/Contents/Home jenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_31.jdk/Contents/Home jenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_40.jdk/Contents/Home jenv rehash
Now set a global java version to use
jenv global oracle64-1.8.0.40
Review all the java versions known to jenv
jenv versions system oracle64-1.7.0.76 oracle64-1.8.0.31 * oracle64-1.8.0.40 (set by /Users/<user>/.jenv/version)
One can now change Java versions for a project by passing the parameter local to jenv. This will support vendor-specific requirements (e.g., Java 6 for Eclipse, Java 7 for Jython in an FDMEE project, or an Atlasssian sdk when building add-ons to extend applications like JIRA or Confluence).
It is necessary to set JAVA_HOME in various start scripts as well. Here is an example:
jenv exec <program name>
Enable GNU core utilities
This requires some consideration of what you actually need. I just need sed, wget and rsync to behave the way I am familiar with on solaris/Ubuntu/Red Hat. Please review this post so you don’t create issues for yourself and break the default utilities. I used this post as well to understand what I needed to do.
Open Terminal and paste this into the prompt:
brew install coreutils
Modify /Users/<user>/.bashrc like:
# .source the GNU utilities # and add brew path export PATH="$(brew --prefix coreutils)/libexec/gnubin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH" # fix the location of man pages for the GNU utilities export MANPATH="/usr/local/opt/coreutils/libexec/gnuman:$MANPATH"
This puts the gnubin directory in the path, and adds the man path to the profile.
It is necessary to install a few new items now:
brew install wget
Get a great text editor, and some other great software
Open Terminal and paste this into the prompt:
brew install atom brew cask install eclipse-ide brew install jython brew cask install citrix-receiver --appdir=/Applications brew cask install angry-ip-scanner brew cask install cyberduck brew cask install colloquy brew cask install geektool brew cask install unetbootin brew cask install audacity210 brew cask install valentina-studio brew install git brew cask install google-chrome brew cask install vlc
That’s all for now.
Remember to install and uninstall software using your new ‘package manager’ and work with jenv to understand its features and use cases. #44 is a good place to begin.
Please let me know if you find an errors.