Bootstrapping a New Mac

1. Install Apple's Command Line Tools, which are prerequisites for Git and Homebrew.

xcode-select --install

2. Clone repo into new hidden directory.

# Use SSH (if set up)...
git clone git@github.com:breindy/dotfiles.git ~/.dotfiles

# ...or use HTTPS and switch remotes later.
git clone https://github.com/breindy/dotfiles.git ~/.dotfiles

3. Create symlinks in the Home directory to the real files in the repo.

# There are better and less manual ways to do this;
# investigate install scripts and bootstrapping tools.

ln -s ~/.dotfiles/.zshrc ~/.zshrc
ln -s ~/.dotfiles/.gitconfig ~/.gitconfig

4. Install Homebrew, followed by the software listed in the Brewfile.

# These could also be in an install script.

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

# Then pass in the Brewfile location...
brew bundle --file ~/.dotfiles/Brewfile

# ...or move to the directory first.
cd ~/.dotfiles && brew bundle

TODO List

• Learn how to use defaults to record and restore System Preferences and other macOS configurations.
• macos-defaults
• Organize these growing steps into multiple script files.
• Automate symlinking and run script files with a bootstrapping tool like Dotbot.
• Revisit the list in .zshrc to customize the shell.
• Make a checklist of steps to decommission your computer before wiping your hard drive.
• Create a bootable USB installer for macOS.
• Integrate other cloud services into your Dotfiles process (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.).
• Find inspiration and examples in other Doffiles repositories at dotfiles.github.io.

Creating Symlinks from Dotfiles to Directory

You must copy the original .dotfile into your repository and your computer stores the symlink to it.

In ~ run: 
    ln -s ~/.dotfiles/.configFileName ~/.configFileName

Make sure to double check if that symlink is created!

Files

1. .gitconfig

• git configuration file
• WIP: To add github aliases/shortcuts

2. .zshrc

• oh-my-zsh configuration file with customization on terminal and PATH
• WIP: To separate aliases, paths, environment variables...

3. Brewfile

• Includes the applications installed using brew, brew cask
• WIP: To beautify the file

4. .npm-global

• Global npm packages installed in my system, in order to export your own to a file run: npm list --global --parseable --depth=0 | sed '1d' | awk '{gsub(/\/.*\//,"",$1); print}' > ~/.dotfiles/.npm-global

• To install packages locally from file: xargs npm install --global < ~/.dotfiles/.npm-global

Checklist

0. SymLink Automation
1. Scripts to setup folders, directories
2. Fresh install script file
3. Clone install script file to install essential github repos
4. Look into Mackup