OSX for Hackers: Yosemite/El Capitan Edition. This script tries not to be *too* opinionated and any major changes to your system require a prompt. You've been warned.

osx-for-hackers.sh

#!/bin/sh

###
# SOME COMMANDS WILL NOT WORK ON macOS (Sierra or newer)
# For Sierra or newer, see https://github.com/mathiasbynens/dotfiles/blob/master/.macos
###

# Alot of these configs have been taken from the various places
# on the web, most from here
# https://github.com/mathiasbynens/dotfiles/blob/5b3c8418ed42d93af2e647dc9d122f25cc034871/.osx

# Set the colours you can use
black='\033[0;30m'
white='\033[0;37m'
red='\033[0;31m'
green='\033[0;32m'
yellow='\033[0;33m'
blue='\033[0;34m'
magenta='\033[0;35m'
cyan='\033[0;36m'

# Resets the style
reset=`tput sgr0`

# Color-echo. Improved. [Thanks @joaocunha]
# arg $1 = message
# arg $2 = Color
cecho() {
  echo "${2}${1}${reset}"
  return
}

# Set continue to false by default
CONTINUE=false

echo ""
cecho "###############################################" $red
cecho "#        DO NOT RUN THIS SCRIPT BLINDLY       #" $red
cecho "#         YOU'LL PROBABLY REGRET IT...        #" $red
cecho "#                                             #" $red
cecho "#              READ IT THOROUGHLY             #" $red
cecho "#         AND EDIT TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS         #" $red
cecho "###############################################" $red
echo ""


echo ""
cecho "Have you read through the script you're about to run and " $red
cecho "understood that it will make changes to your computer? (y/n)" $red
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  CONTINUE=true
fi

if ! $CONTINUE; then
  # Check if we're continuing and output a message if not
  cecho "Please go read the script, it only takes a few minutes" $red
  exit
fi

# Here we go.. ask for the administrator password upfront and run a
# keep-alive to update existing `sudo` time stamp until script has finished
sudo -v
while true; do sudo -n true; sleep 60; kill -0 "$$" || exit; done 2>/dev/null &

###############################################################################
# General UI/UX
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Would you like to set your computer name (as done via System Preferences >> Sharing)?  (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  echo "What would you like it to be?"
  read COMPUTER_NAME
  sudo scutil --set ComputerName $COMPUTER_NAME
  sudo scutil --set HostName $COMPUTER_NAME
  sudo scutil --set LocalHostName $COMPUTER_NAME
  sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.smb.server NetBIOSName -string $COMPUTER_NAME
fi

echo ""
echo "Hide the Time Machine, Volume, User, and Bluetooth icons?  (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  # Get the system Hardware UUID and use it for the next menubar stuff
  for domain in ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.systemuiserver.*; do
    defaults write "${domain}" dontAutoLoad -array \
      "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/TimeMachine.menu" \
      "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Volume.menu" \
      "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/User.menu"
  done

  defaults write com.apple.systemuiserver menuExtras -array \
    "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Bluetooth.menu" \
    "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/AirPort.menu" \
    "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Battery.menu" \
    "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Clock.menu"
fi

echo ""
echo "Hide the Spotlight icon? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  sudo chmod 600 /System/Library/CoreServices/Search.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Search
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable Spotlight indexing for any volume that gets mounted and has not yet been indexed before? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  echo 'Use `sudo mdutil -i off "/Volumes/foo"` to stop indexing any volume.'
  sudo defaults write /.Spotlight-V100/VolumeConfiguration Exclusions -array "/Volumes"
fi

echo ""
echo "Change indexing order and disable some search results in Spotlight? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  # Yosemite-specific search results (remove them if your are using OS X 10.9 or older):
  #   MENU_DEFINITION
  #   MENU_CONVERSION
  #   MENU_EXPRESSION
  #   MENU_SPOTLIGHT_SUGGESTIONS (send search queries to Apple)
  #   MENU_WEBSEARCH             (send search queries to Apple)
  #   MENU_OTHER
  defaults write com.apple.spotlight orderedItems -array \
    '{"enabled" = 1;"name" = "APPLICATIONS";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 1;"name" = "SYSTEM_PREFS";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 1;"name" = "DIRECTORIES";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 1;"name" = "PDF";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 1;"name" = "FONTS";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "DOCUMENTS";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MESSAGES";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "CONTACT";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "EVENT_TODO";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "IMAGES";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "BOOKMARKS";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MUSIC";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MOVIES";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "PRESENTATIONS";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "SPREADSHEETS";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "SOURCE";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MENU_DEFINITION";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MENU_OTHER";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MENU_CONVERSION";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MENU_EXPRESSION";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MENU_WEBSEARCH";}' \
    '{"enabled" = 0;"name" = "MENU_SPOTLIGHT_SUGGESTIONS";}'
  # Load new settings before rebuilding the index
  killall mds > /dev/null 2>&1
  # Make sure indexing is enabled for the main volume
  sudo mdutil -i on / > /dev/null
  # Rebuild the index from scratch
  sudo mdutil -E / > /dev/null
fi

echo ""
echo "Expanding the save panel by default"
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool true
defaults write NSGlobalDomain PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool true
defaults write NSGlobalDomain PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint2 -bool true

echo ""
echo "Automatically quit printer app once the print jobs complete"
defaults write com.apple.print.PrintingPrefs "Quit When Finished" -bool true

# Try e.g. `cd /tmp; unidecode "\x{0000}" > cc.txt; open -e cc.txt`
echo ""
echo "Displaying ASCII control characters using caret notation in standard text views"
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSTextShowsControlCharacters -bool true

echo ""
echo "Save to disk, rather than iCloud, by default? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSDocumentSaveNewDocumentsToCloud -bool false
fi

echo ""
echo "Reveal IP address, hostname, OS version, etc. when clicking the clock in the login window"
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow AdminHostInfo HostName

echo ""
echo "Check for software updates daily, not just once per week"
defaults write com.apple.SoftwareUpdate ScheduleFrequency -int 1

echo ""
echo "Removing duplicates in the 'Open With' menu"
/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user

echo ""
echo "Disable smart quotes and smart dashes? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticQuoteSubstitutionEnabled -bool false
  defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticDashSubstitutionEnabled -bool false
fi

echo ""
echo "Add ability to toggle between Light and Dark mode in Yosemite using ctrl+opt+cmd+t? (y/n)"
# http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/2jr6s2/1010_i_found_a_way_to_dynamically_switch_between/
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist _HIEnableThemeSwitchHotKey -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable Photos.app from starting everytime a device is plugged in"
defaults -currentHost write com.apple.ImageCapture disableHotPlug -bool true


###############################################################################
# General Power and Performance modifications
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Disable hibernation? (speeds up entering sleep mode) (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0
fi

echo ""
echo "Remove the sleep image file to save disk space? (y/n)"
echo "(If you're on a <128GB SSD, this helps but can have adverse affects on performance. You've been warned.)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  sudo rm /Private/var/vm/sleepimage
  echo "Creating a zero-byte file instead"
  sudo touch /Private/var/vm/sleepimage
  echo "and make sure it can't be rewritten"
  sudo chflags uchg /Private/var/vm/sleepimage
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable the sudden motion sensor? (it's not useful for SSDs/current MacBooks) (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  sudo pmset -a sms 0
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable system-wide resume? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.systempreferences NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable the menubar transparency? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.universalaccess reduceTransparency -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Speeding up wake from sleep to 24 hours from an hour"
# http://www.cultofmac.com/221392/quick-hack-speeds-up-retina-macbooks-wake-from-sleep-os-x-tips/
sudo pmset -a standbydelay 86400


################################################################################
# Trackpad, mouse, keyboard, Bluetooth accessories, and input
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Increasing sound quality for Bluetooth headphones/headsets"
defaults write com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent "Apple Bitpool Min (editable)" -int 40

echo ""
echo "Enabling full keyboard access for all controls (enable Tab in modal dialogs, menu windows, etc.)"
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode -int 3

echo ""
echo "Disabling press-and-hold for special keys in favor of key repeat"
defaults write NSGlobalDomain ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

echo ""
echo "Setting a blazingly fast keyboard repeat rate"
defaults write NSGlobalDomain KeyRepeat -int 0

echo ""
echo "Disable auto-correct? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticSpellingCorrectionEnabled -bool false
fi

echo ""
echo "Setting trackpad & mouse speed to a reasonable number"
defaults write -g com.apple.trackpad.scaling 2
defaults write -g com.apple.mouse.scaling 2.5

echo ""
echo "Turn off keyboard illumination when computer is not used for 5 minutes"
defaults write com.apple.BezelServices kDimTime -int 300

echo ""
echo "Disable display from automatically adjusting brightness? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.iokit.AmbientLightSensor "Automatic Display Enabled" -bool false
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable keyboard from automatically adjusting backlight brightness in low light? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.iokit.AmbientLightSensor "Automatic Keyboard Enabled" -bool false
fi

###############################################################################
# Screen
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Requiring password immediately after sleep or screen saver begins"
defaults write com.apple.screensaver askForPassword -int 1
defaults write com.apple.screensaver askForPasswordDelay -int 0

echo ""
echo "Where do you want screenshots to be stored? (hit ENTER if you want ~/Desktop as default)"
# Thanks https://github.com/omgmog
read screenshot_location
echo ""
if [ -z "${screenshot_location}" ]
then
  # If nothing specified, we default to ~/Desktop
  screenshot_location="${HOME}/Desktop"
else
  # Otherwise we use input
  if [[ "${screenshot_location:0:1}" != "/" ]]
  then
    # If input doesn't start with /, assume it's relative to home
    screenshot_location="${HOME}/${screenshot_location}"
  fi
fi
echo "Setting location to ${screenshot_location}"
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location -string "${screenshot_location}"

echo ""
echo "What format should screenshots be saved as? (hit ENTER for PNG, options: BMP, GIF, JPG, PDF, TIFF) "
read screenshot_format
if [ -z "$1" ]
then
  echo ""
  echo "Setting screenshot format to PNG"
  defaults write com.apple.screencapture type -string "png"
else
  echo ""
  echo "Setting screenshot format to $screenshot_format"
  defaults write com.apple.screencapture type -string "$screenshot_format"
fi

echo ""
echo "Enabling subpixel font rendering on non-Apple LCDs"
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 2

echo ""
echo "Enabling HiDPI display modes (requires restart)"
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver DisplayResolutionEnabled -bool true

###############################################################################
# Finder
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Show icons for hard drives, servers, and removable media on the desktop? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.finder ShowExternalHardDrivesOnDesktop -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Show hidden files in Finder by default? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Show dotfiles in Finder by default? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
fi

echo ""
echo "Show all filename extensions in Finder by default? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleShowAllExtensions -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Show status bar in Finder by default? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.finder ShowStatusBar -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Display full POSIX path as Finder window title? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable the warning when changing a file extension? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.finder FXEnableExtensionChangeWarning -bool false
fi

echo ""
echo "Use column view in all Finder windows by default? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.finder FXPreferredViewStyle Clmv
fi

echo ""
echo "Avoid creation of .DS_Store files on network volumes? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable disk image verification? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages skip-verify -bool true
  defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages skip-verify-locked -bool true
  defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages skip-verify-remote -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Allowing text selection in Quick Look/Preview in Finder by default"
defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableTextSelection -bool true

echo ""
echo "Show item info near icons on the desktop and in other icon views? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:showItemInfo true" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :FK_StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:showItemInfo true" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:showItemInfo true" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
fi

echo ""
echo "Show item info to the right of the icons on the desktop? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:labelOnBottom false" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
fi

echo ""
echo "Enable snap-to-grid for icons on the desktop and in other icon views? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:arrangeBy grid" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :FK_StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:arrangeBy grid" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:arrangeBy grid" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
fi

echo ""
echo "Increase grid spacing for icons on the desktop and in other icon views? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:gridSpacing 100" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :FK_StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:gridSpacing 100" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:gridSpacing 100" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
fi

echo ""
echo "Increase the size of icons on the desktop and in other icon views? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:iconSize 80" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :FK_StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:iconSize 80" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
  /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:iconSize 80" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
fi


###############################################################################
# Dock & Mission Control
###############################################################################

echo "Wipe all (default) app icons from the Dock? (y/n)"
echo "(This is only really useful when setting up a new Mac, or if you don't use the Dock to launch apps.)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array
fi

echo ""
echo "Setting the icon size of Dock items to 36 pixels for optimal size/screen-realestate"
defaults write com.apple.dock tilesize -int 36

echo ""
echo "Speeding up Mission Control animations and grouping windows by application"
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0.1
defaults write com.apple.dock "expose-group-by-app" -bool true

echo ""
echo "Disable the over-the-top focus ring animation"
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSUseAnimatedFocusRing -bool false

echo ""
echo "Hide the menu bar? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write "Apple Global Domain" "_HIHideMenuBar" 1
fi

echo ""
echo "Set Dock to auto-hide and remove the auto-hiding delay? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.dock autohide -bool true
  defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 0
  defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0
fi


###############################################################################
# Chrome, Safari, & WebKit
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Privacy: Don't send search queries to Apple"
defaults write com.apple.Safari UniversalSearchEnabled -bool false
defaults write com.apple.Safari SuppressSearchSuggestions -bool true

echo ""
echo "Hiding Safari's bookmarks bar by default"
defaults write com.apple.Safari ShowFavoritesBar -bool false

echo ""
echo "Hiding Safari's sidebar in Top Sites"
defaults write com.apple.Safari ShowSidebarInTopSites -bool false

echo ""
echo "Disabling Safari's thumbnail cache for History and Top Sites"
defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSnapshotsUpdatePolicy -int 2

echo ""
echo "Enabling Safari's debug menu"
defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeInternalDebugMenu -bool true

echo ""
echo "Making Safari's search banners default to Contains instead of Starts With"
defaults write com.apple.Safari FindOnPageMatchesWordStartsOnly -bool false

echo ""
echo "Removing useless icons from Safari's bookmarks bar"
defaults write com.apple.Safari ProxiesInBookmarksBar "()"

echo ""
echo "Enabling the Develop menu and the Web Inspector in Safari"
defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDevelopMenu -bool true
defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitDeveloperExtrasEnabledPreferenceKey -bool true
defaults write com.apple.Safari "com.apple.Safari.ContentPageGroupIdentifier.WebKit2DeveloperExtrasEnabled" -bool true

echo ""
echo "Adding a context menu item for showing the Web Inspector in web views"
defaults write NSGlobalDomain WebKitDeveloperExtras -bool true

echo ""
echo "Disabling the annoying backswipe in Chrome"
defaults write com.google.Chrome AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool false
defaults write com.google.Chrome.canary AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool false

echo ""
echo "Using the system-native print preview dialog in Chrome"
defaults write com.google.Chrome DisablePrintPreview -bool true
defaults write com.google.Chrome.canary DisablePrintPreview -bool true


###############################################################################
# Mail
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Setting email addresses to copy as 'foo@example.com' instead of 'Foo Bar <foo@example.com>' in Mail.app"
defaults write com.apple.mail AddressesIncludeNameOnPasteboard -bool false


###############################################################################
# Terminal
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Enabling UTF-8 ONLY in Terminal.app and setting the Pro theme by default"
defaults write com.apple.terminal StringEncodings -array 4
defaults write com.apple.Terminal "Default Window Settings" -string "Pro"
defaults write com.apple.Terminal "Startup Window Settings" -string "Pro"


###############################################################################
# Time Machine
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Prevent Time Machine from prompting to use new hard drives as backup volume? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.TimeMachine DoNotOfferNewDisksForBackup -bool true
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable local Time Machine backups? (This can take up a ton of SSD space on <128GB SSDs) (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  hash tmutil &> /dev/null && sudo tmutil disablelocal
fi


###############################################################################
# Messages                                                                    #
###############################################################################

echo ""
echo "Disable automatic emoji substitution in Messages.app? (i.e. use plain text smileys) (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.messageshelper.MessageController SOInputLineSettings -dict-add "automaticEmojiSubstitutionEnablediMessage" -bool false
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable smart quotes in Messages.app? (it's annoying for messages that contain code) (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.messageshelper.MessageController SOInputLineSettings -dict-add "automaticQuoteSubstitutionEnabled" -bool false
fi

echo ""
echo "Disable continuous spell checking in Messages.app? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  defaults write com.apple.messageshelper.MessageController SOInputLineSettings -dict-add "continuousSpellCheckingEnabled" -bool false
fi


###############################################################################
# Transmission.app                                                            #
###############################################################################


echo ""
echo "Do you use Transmission for torrenting? (y/n)"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  mkdir -p ~/Downloads/Incomplete

  echo ""
  echo "Setting up an incomplete downloads folder in Downloads"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission UseIncompleteDownloadFolder -bool true
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission IncompleteDownloadFolder -string "${HOME}/Downloads/Incomplete"

  echo ""
  echo "Setting auto-add folder to be Downloads"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission AutoImportDirectory -string "${HOME}/Downloads"

  echo ""
  echo "Don't prompt for confirmation before downloading"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission DownloadAsk -bool false

  echo ""
  echo "Trash original torrent files after adding them"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission DeleteOriginalTorrent -bool true

  echo ""
  echo "Hiding the donate message"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission WarningDonate -bool false

  echo ""
  echo "Hiding the legal disclaimer"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission WarningLegal -bool false

  echo ""
  echo "Auto-resizing the window to fit transfers"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission AutoSize -bool true

  echo ""
  echo "Auto updating to betas"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission AutoUpdateBeta -bool true

  echo ""
  echo "Setting up the best block list"
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission EncryptionRequire -bool true
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission BlocklistAutoUpdate -bool true
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission BlocklistNew -bool true
  defaults write org.m0k.transmission BlocklistURL -string "http://john.bitsurge.net/public/biglist.p2p.gz"
fi


###############################################################################
# Sublime Text
###############################################################################
echo ""
echo "Do you use Sublime Text 3 as your editor of choice, and is it installed?"
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
  # Installing from homebrew cask does the following for you!
  # echo ""
  # echo "Linking Sublime Text for command line usage as subl"
  # ln -s "/Applications/Sublime Text.app/Contents/SharedSupport/bin/subl" /usr/local/bin/subl

  echo ""
  echo "Setting Git to use Sublime Text as default editor"
  git config --global core.editor "subl -n -w"
fi

###############################################################################
# Optional Extras
###############################################################################

# Create a nice last-change git log message, from https://twitter.com/elijahmanor/status/697055097356943360
git config --global alias.lastchange 'log -p --follow -n 1'



###############################################################################
# Kill affected applications
###############################################################################

echo ""
cecho "Done!" $cyan
echo ""
echo ""
cecho "################################################################################" $white
echo ""
echo ""
cecho "Note that some of these changes require a logout/restart to take effect." $red
cecho "Killing some open applications in order to take effect." $red
echo ""

find ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock -name "*.db" -maxdepth 1 -delete
for app in "Activity Monitor" "Address Book" "Calendar" "Contacts" "cfprefsd" \
  "Dock" "Finder" "Mail" "Messages" "Safari" "SystemUIServer" \
  "Terminal" "Transmission"; do
  killall "${app}" > /dev/null 2>&1
done

Line:

defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool false

is a duplicate of line:

defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO

even though the intention is different.

I just updated the script as I noticed this as well. Thanks for the heads up!

Figured it out.

sudo chmod 755 /System/Library/CoreServices/Search.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Search
killall SystemUIServer

This should be optional.

Ok, I read everything in here before running this script. No mention of Spotlight. And after running it, there's no Spotlight on the Menu screen. I have even restarted the machine, without any luck. Any idea?

@arthurgeek, its line 72

Hi, I executed all the steps here, but I notice that the functionality of F3 key ("multiple windows") doesn't work any more. Can you help me with this issue?

@juanjardim, it's disabled by line 476:
475: echo "Removing Mission Control as it interferes with Sublime Text keyboard shortcut for selecting multiple
476: defaults write com.apple.dock mcx-expose-disabled -bool TRUE

Really you should ask the user before disabling some of these things, eg. system sleep. Disabling mission control is a sledgehammer approach, don't you think?

Really should consider making killing spotlight optional (and explicit)

This script was recently mentioned on HN through this link so I imagine this is going to get some exposure and flack soon.

Not trying to be on the defensive when I say "don't run shell scripts from the internet" but you're more than welcome to read what the script does first before running it (which I seriously advise). I know there are a ton of places in the script that could be improved and I'm always re-evaluating and improving it based on feedback so I'm open to suggestions.

@robrecord I'm sure that could be improved and it's definitely something I'll consider. My personal preference is to remove all icons from the menubar to start from a minimal and clean slate. I tend to only run this script when setting up a new computer anyways.

@sbilstein at one point almost every option was inside of a prompt, but it took forever to loop through when testing so I removed a lot of them.

@sbilstein just updated to include a prompt when hiding Spotlight icon

I didn't know how much I wanted most of these things. Thank you!

Happy to help @benbaker :) more updates coming soon once Yosemite official drops

Thanks for the script and tips! Removing the volume-icon is bad idea, because it does provide information and usefull functionality (not the volume up/down stuff).
UI: it changes state according level (like the wifi-icon shows signal-strength), easy to see if the computer is muted or not.
Fn: "alt + left mouse click" exposes a menu where the user can select Airplay devices as output. A true "hacker" values music/sound! :-)

@hkjorgensen I agree and disagree, you can control volume from your keyboard and from the terminal. My personal preference is to use the Sound Preferences menu if I'm doing any sound editing.

In the next version the script will prompt if you want to remove the icons from the menu bar.

There is an issue with OSX Yosemite: If you decide to hide the spotlight icon, it will also remove the functionality (Using Cmd + space won't fire it anymore)

@albertorestifo generally if you're disabling the spotlight icon, you're gonna use Alfred (or another launcher instead) so for the sake of the script, remove the line if you run it.

@albertorestifo - FWIW, I'm running the Yosemite GM Candidate version and my designated keyboard shortcut (⌥-space instead of the default ⌘-space) launches Spotlight just fine, even with the menu bar icon hidden.

Half of this shit (if not all) should prompt the user. Disabling sleep completely? Autohiding the dock? That kind of stuff is completely subjective.

echo "Remove the sleep image file to save disk space"
sudo rm /Private/var/vm/sleepimage
echo "creating a zero-byte file instead"
sudo touch /Private/var/vm/sleepimage
echo "and make sure it can't be rewritten"
sudo chflags uchg /Private/var/vm/sleepimage

Seriously?

@kopf this is a guide for hackers, if u dont want it to do that, edit the script.

@kopf I agree with @j-mcnally, If you don't like something please feel free to edit the script before running.

The reasoning for removing the sleepimage is to remove a ridiculously large amount of occupied space for low storage-size SSDs. I understand it's use in the OS however when using with a large amount of RAM (4-8GB) and a small 64GB/128GB SSD where storage space matters, the more storage the better. I've seen very minimal instability with this and I'm sure others can attest.

Also, those few lines were ripped almost verbatim from a few other .osx files...

Absolutely - I was incredibly stupid to run this script without first reading it fully - I took a look at it and from the first glance, it looked as if it was going to ask me questions about each point. I got it on recommendation from a friend, so I ignored the prospect that it might do something malicious.

Both of which proved to be very stupid mistakes indeed.

In any event, here's a question: if this script isn't meant to be simply run as is, then why are you sharing it in that form? (Especially with the incredible lie Follow the prompts and you'll be fine.)

It would make sense if the script were instead one of the following:

• a list of useful config options in a markdown document, which the reader can copy and run as they wish
• a script which asks a series of questions and then outputs a script, like this one, but tailor-made for the user.

But it isn't.

@kopf I'm in the process now of revising the script and providing a better experience

Glad I read the comments and the script before using, it worked out great, thanks! Minor point, but with 2.0, you might want to use a better encoding (see lines 37, 50, 133)

This changed my life. Thanks for sharing!

This script needs an undo option :)

@BorisVerk Yeah this was unintentional and I'm not sure why the encoding is messed up

@jul1an next version will prompt for any major/system change. If you read what each one does, it's pretty easy to deduce what the opposite/undo command is for it.

Setting 'dontAutoLoad' for the menu bar icons doesn't work on a fresh install. There doesn't appear to be a default plist file in there for systemuiserver and I'm unsure how to fix it since it's suffixed with an arbitrary UUID.

Dug a little deeper and it's the hardware UUID for your machine. Looks like you can grab it like so

> /usr/sbin/system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | grep 'Hardware UUID'
    Hardware UUID: 12345678-90AB-CDEF-1234-567890ABCDEF

@neilpa I'm interested in what you're trying to do, could you explain?

echo "Allow hitting the Backspace key to go to the previous page in history"

Dude. Come on. Fuck everything about that. Does that crap convention come from IE/Windows, or some shit? It is bullshit. If you are used to that convention... Lose it. Countless times I've backspaced to delete a character, only to realize I lost focus in the meantime and the browser took me back a page, losing all the text I input.

The backspace key should NOT be modal. Welcome to OS X, we use Command-LeftArrow here, to go back in a browser.

@pmarreck the fork button is at the top, you're welcome to use it :)

Snarkiness aside, I'm well aware that some of these conventions are unorthodox in the OS X ecosystem, but these are personal additions that I felt are necessary for me to feel like my Mac is my own. Fork this script and maintain your own version. Or don't. The world is your oyster.

@brandonb927 Sorry if I was a bit too vague. Got a new machine the other day and ran through your script but hiding the menu bar icons didn't work for me. I poked around and found that com.apple.systemuiserver.UUID.plist didn't exist for me in ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost. That means the globbing on line 58 doesn't find anything.

I was trying to figure out a way to seed that file if it didn't exist. After some digging I figured out that UUID is the Hardware UUID as I mentioned above. Instead of using globbing and hoping the file exists you can explicitly write it after extracting UUID from the system_profiler command.

This should probably do the trick

HW_UUID=$(system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | awk '/UUID/ {print $3;}')
defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.systemuiserver.$HW_UUID.plist dontAutoLoad -array \
    "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/TimeMachine.menu" \
    "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Volume.menu" \
    "/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/User.menu"

@neilpa that's awesome! I'll add this into the next major version of the script :) Thanks!

Disabling compressed memory might be a nice addition to all of these - who needs it when you have 16+G? :>

sudo nvram boot-args='vm_compressor=1'

chflags nohidden ~/Library/
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

I have some

• https://github.com/diimdeep/dotfiles/tree/master/osx/configure
• https://github.com/diimdeep/dotfiles/tree/master/osx/configure/yosemite

thanks @diimdeep!

@tzvetkoff that's a great hack

@brandonb927 this is awesome! I've watched the script morph and it's become a behemoth!
I tagged on some Caskroom stuff at the end, some Sublime tweaks and am very happy. https://github.com/ryanmaclean/OSX-Post-Install-Script
Thanks!

Would definitely help us out! Is there anyway of enabling sharing, enabling VNC and setting a VNC password? How would you also make this not optional, ie. just enable the settings that I want implemented?

@MISIEK22 I'm not sure you can do this from the cli, but it'd be worth researching

I want to name my computer something with a space on it, but using the "" method in the script doens't work, is it possible?

@realdannys pretty sure you just enter the spaces as-is, there's no escaping going on here.

If you test in your shell:

$ read COMPUTER_NAME
Mac Book Pro

this is the output

$ echo $COMPUTER_NAME
Mac Book Pro

Thanks for sharing @brandonb927! Just what I was looking for.

Forked and going to have a play.

That huge else statement nesting could be refactored if you change the if statement into a guard statement with an exit.

@EvanPurkhiser Thanks for the tip!

how to run this script?

Looks like an issue with the setting of screenshot folder:

echo ""
echo "Where do you want screenshots to be stored? (hit ENTER if you want ~/Desktop as default)"
read screenshot_location
if [ -z "$1" ]
then
  echo ""
  echo "Setting location to ~/Desktop"
  defaults write com.apple.screencapture location -string "$HOME/Desktop"
else
  echo ""
  echo "Setting location to ~/$screenshot_location"
  defaults write com.apple.screencapture location -string "$HOME/$screenshot_location"
fi

What if the user wants to locate their screenshot directory on another drive, or somewhere outside of $HOME?

I propose something like this, to check for a / at the start of the entered string:

echo ""
echo "Where do you want screenshots to be stored? (hit ENTER if you want ~/Desktop as default)"
read screenshot_location
echo ""
if [ -z "${screenshot_location}" ]
then
# If nothing specified, we default to ~/Desktop
  screenshot_location="${HOME}/Desktop"
else
# Otherwise we use input
  if [[ "${screenshot_location:0:1}" != "/" ]]
  then
  # If input doesn't start with /, assume it's relative to home
    screenshot_location="${HOME}/${screenshot_location}"
  fi
fi
echo "Setting location to ${screenshot_location}"
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location -string "${screenshot_location}"

@omgmog you propose a great point. I'll review this and add it in if it works as advertised :)

Hey nice script, but why not integrate it into secrets (pref pane)?

@mojo2012 I'm not sure what you mean by "integrate" but some of these settings are very opinionated so I'm not sure they could be integrated.

Excellent! Great job @brandonb927, thanks a lot. All I'm missing now is a setting to ALWAYS include system files and hidden files when I do a Finder search. Please? Someone? Pretty please?

echo "Increasing sound quality for Bluetooth headphones/headsets"
defaults write com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent "Apple Bitpool Min (editable)" -int 40

is not working, since there have been some changes since Mavericks, does anyone know the new path or another way to change this value? My BT connection crackles horribly...

PS: i didn't even know all these kind of changes were even possible, that's a nice script!

@CptKacke to be honest this is legacy from pre-Mavericks, I have no way of testing this so if anyone has feedback I'm open to modification!

I found a way, but with bypassing the terminal. I don't know if this is still interesting in this case :D
I downloaded the "Bluetooth Explorer" (but it has to be the one from 2012), using an apple developer account. There you can change it in Utilities > Special Options

@CptKacke yeah but the changes are not permanent at all, for me at least. :D

This is fantastic - thanks for posting it!

This is brilliant. Probably wouldn't use the full script, but it's a fantastic collection of power user settings. I've already shared it with some of my developer colleagues. Well done. Sorry you're getting some flack from people who don't read it through first. 😄

AMAZING! Thank you!

The one that slipped by in my pre-run review was the "Allow hitting the Backspace key to go to the previous page in history" - This falls into the same category as "tap to click" on trackpads: making the computer unusable ;)

@fatty1380 after listening to everyone's feedback, I've removed this option

To hide the spotlight icon you should rather use
sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.Spotlight.plist

@docterd that gives me an error in Yosemite:

/System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.Spotlight.plist: Could not find specified service

This is really clever. I like how you're using prompts. I also like the idea of a "configurable export" as @kopf suggested.

I've been working on a similar tool. Disclaimer, definitely don't "just run" that one. I've focused very heavily on documenting each setting's options, especially when it comes to integer based setting, where the meaning can be cryptic. Additionally, I've split the settings across multiple files in an effort to make them more easy to find and toggle on a per-application basis.

Thanks @brandonb927. My personal dead simple setup script: https://github.com/pathikrit/mac-setup-script/blob/master/setup.sh

@pathikrit I have a script like that in my (poorly named, which no longer actually contains any dotfiles) dotfiles repo.

@joeyhoer I like what you've got going on there. It does seem like a bit of overkill to me, but to each is there own right? :)

Great script!

I've been trying to run these three on Yosemite ( OS 10.10) :

defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode -int 3

defaults write NSGlobalDomain ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

defaults write NSGlobalDomain KeyRepeat -int 0

But they don't seem to have any effect. Does anyone have any ideas?

@jeffpowrs they work when holding down a key, have you rebooted after running the script?

@brandonb927, I have restarted. Unfortunately that didn't do it for me. The repeat is still slow and I still see the special keys when holding down a key for example the e key. I believe it has to be something strange on my end. I'm also running two keyboard remapping applications. Perhaps those are the cause of my problems.

Anyone else's mail.app break after using this script?

com.apple.screencapture appears to be gone in Yosemite?
$ uname -r
14.0.0
$ defaults read com.apple.screencapture
2014-12-18 11:03:58.624 defaults[73036:974080]
Domain com.apple.screencapture does not exist

@brandonb927 Thanks for the script! Lots of useful things.

A couple of suggestions:

1. It looks like window resizing speed doesn't work in Yosemite any more:
   mathiasbynens/dotfiles@4471e27
2. Consider disabling the suggestions and Bing web search results in spotlight:
   https://github.com/mathiasbynens/dotfiles/blob/master/.osx#L518-548

@massemanet thanks for bringing that up, I'll check into it.

@karlhorky great suggestions, thanks!

Haven't read through the script properly yet but it looks like there's a lot of interesting stuff to pick at, thanks for putting it together!

You made a comment about testing being awkward with everything prompting all the time. How about prompting based on a variable for the things you don't want to prompt on, like sticking PROMPTALL=true at the top of the script so you can just set that to false when you want to skip the prompts for things that currently don't prompt?

Line 703 errors if ~/Downloads/Incomplete doesn't exist. This script should test if that directory is present, and possibly create the Incomplete directory automatically.

@quadsim that's a good point, I will look into that.

@spuder thanks for the heads up, mkdir -p will create the directory if not present. I've moved the lines around but haven't tested. It should create the folders if they don't exist..

Line 120 should be wrapped in single quotes. Otherwise bash tries to interpret the backticks and throws this error Use Error: invalid path/Volumes/foo'. to stop indexing any volume.`

@spuder thanks again. I use zshell so I think that's why this worked for me. I'll make sure that this thing actually runs before I update it again.

On a brand new mac, running 10.10, this line errors

Enabling snap-to-grid for icons on the desktop and in other icon views
Set: Entry, ":FK_StandardViewSettings:IconViewSettings:arrangeBy", Does Not Exist

The mkdir -p for Transmission needs to be moved in front of the 'echo' command on line 703.

   echo "Use `~/Downloads/Incomplete` to store incomplete downloads"
    mkdir -p ~/Downloads/Incomplete

The first line attempts to expand ~/Downloads/Incomplete, but that directory isn't necessarily available until line 704

The KeyRepeat command won't have an effect if you use Karabiner for any key-remapping.

Has anyone found a way to lock the dock items when running Yosemite?

@corvine74 defaults write com.apple.dock contents-immutable -bool true; killall Dock

Thanks for the heads up @spuder. I fixed the Downloads folder issue though I'm unable to replicate the snap-to-grid issue.

@brandonb927 loved your cecho function! I tweaked it a little bit and ended up with this:

# Colors list
red='\033[0;31m'
green='\033[0;32m'
# ...

# Bold
bold=`tput bold`

# Resets the style
normal=`tput sgr0`

# Color-echo.
# arg $1 = message
# arg $2 = Color
cecho() {
    echo "${2}${bold}\n${1}${normal}"
    return
}

It now has bold and an arbitrary \n, so I don't need to echo "" before.

@brandonb927 Also, some of the prompts can probably be shortened. I'm prompting this way:

echo "Question? [y/n]"
read -r response
if [[ ! $response =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
    echo "no"
else
    echo "yes"
fi

I didn't really want this, but didn't spot it before it was too late, thought it would be an easy fix to return to details on the bottom, but apparently not, any clues?

/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:labelOnBottom false" 
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

I have been running the opposite from your command, killing finder and restarting doesn't return them...

/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:labelOnBottom true" 
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

@joaocunha Thanks for the tips, I'll see how they work with some testing.

@iantearle you really shouldn't run scripts blindly... but regardless I think the fix here is to change the settings in Finder View settings if changing false to true isn't working. Right-click your desktop, click Show View Settings and make sure the radio box "Bottom" is selected. Reboot if necessary.

Brandon,

Wanted to suggest a couple of snippets I made for renaming the macs, by identifying the type of chassis and using ML-$serial for laptops, MW-$serial for iMac, Mac Pro or Mac Mini and S-$serial XServe.
Maybe you could add it to your script: https://gist.github.com/gjpalau/f30fbf432ab62540ece0#file-macrenamer-sh (tried to stick the code here but it was all screwed up).

A longer script with an AD bind script included on this link in case someone needs it: https://gist.github.com/gjpalau/92e802d422923762311c#file-rename-and-bind-sh

Shameless Plug: I write in a blog oriented for Mac OS X Administrators called http://enterpriseosx.com if anyone needs more scripts for free, no ads etc...

@gjpalau thanks for the suggestion! I'm not sure that outside of enterprise those would be useful, but great work there :) I think a lot of people who would use this script would want to customize their name to their needs.

Just a word on the sleepimage stuff - it's all good about saving space until you realise that if you run out of battery, your Mac will just turn off ungracefully and you will lose state (including any unsaved files) without warning. Might be worth warning the user / adding a comment in the script for a hacker so they know. If you want to reverse this, don't set the hibernatevalue value to 1 (from the 0 in the script), set it to 3.

From: https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/pmset.1.html
(search for 'safe sleep arguments')

A great script though, including that functionality! Just needs the warning IMO as most people won't know what hibernatemode does off the top of their head.

@petemill I agree completely and I've actually had it happen to me once, however it was 100% my fault and I don't think it changes my opinion on keeping it in the script behind a prompt which it already is. I'd also note that if you're a hacker/coder who's gonna use this script, you're going to research what some of the commands do before you run them right? ;)

Just a warning for anyone using sudo nvram boot-args='vm_compressor=1' to disable memory compression: it works fine, but it causes installd to fail when updating OS X through the app store.

You can run sudo nvram boot-args='vm_compressor=4' to turn it back on and get updates working again.

Am I missing something, or do the two sections around 369 and 376 do the same thing?

I come back to this gist with each new major OS release and I always discover all sorts of new tricks. I love it. Thanks so much 👍

@lucianf I'll investigate those two commands, you might be right.

@benjibee thanks for the feedback :) I'm always updating it to make it better.

This script is awesome, thanks!

I would love to turn on Three Finger dragging & Touch to click. Anyone have any luck with those?

thanks for the feedback @anchor-detail!

Hello @brandonb927, there is an issue with case-sensitive osx, when removing the sleepimage it does not find /Private/.... because it is called 'private'

@BoteRock this is something you'd have to fix before running it, I'm not going to add case-sensitive partition checking just for that as it's just not that big of an issue that I've run into. Great to know however and good catch!

Ran into this script for the transparency line defaults write defaults write com.apple.universalaccess reduceTransparency -bool false. Which process do I need to kill for it to get immediate effect? Right now it only seems to work after restart or after toggling the checkbox inside the universal access panel. I'm looking for a way to apply this change immediately

@dabido I think you need to killall SystemUIServer, though I'm not entirely sure.

@brandon927 - Thanx for sharing. This helps expose and document a lot of little things that should be exposed. While everyone has there own perferences and needs. Have a model script like this is really helpful. Likely everyone who finds this gist was looking for the: "How do I change this or that?" and this shows that a little CLI can do it.

Suggest adding a line to modify /etc/profile to improve slow bash prompt.. Add the line PATH="" to /etc/profile so it looks like this:

if [ -x /usr/libexec/path_helper ]; then
    PATH=""
    eval `/usr/libexec/path_helper -s`
fi

Thanks @tjsoftworks, I appreciate it :)

Also thanks for the suggestion @dcondrey, I'll test that out!

I used these defaults via the new ansible module osx_defaults in my dotfiles: https://github.com/elnappo/dotfiles/blob/master/init/tasks/osx_defaults.yml

Here's one I always use in my system. Maybe you can add that one too 😋

# Symlink /tmp to ~/Downloads 
sudo mv ~/Downloads ~/Downloads.bak
sudo ln -s /tmp ~/Downloads

This tweak is incredible helpful for lazy people like me that let their download folder overgrow. It forces me to categorize: Is the file I just downloaded important or not? If it is, move it to it's place and if it's not, just leave it and it will get deleted upon restart.

Especially with .dmg files I found this to be super helpful because I care about the content inside the container and not the container itself.

Looks like works fine on El Capitan.

@adamziaja thanks for verifying that! I have yet to run it on my computer that I did a fresh install of El Capitan on as my partner uses it mostly and I use my work laptop. I'll have to do some testing and updating when I do so.

Cheers.

This script is so helpful when clean installing. One fix, Line 360 is missing read -r response.

@kylesimmonds Thanks for pointing that out, fixed now!

thanks for a better mac setup. i didn't do this on a clean install but worked fine

Is there any script like this for Ubuntu (ubuntu-for-hackers.sh)?

@Tushkiz not that I'm aware of, I use OS X

I came across this fantastic collection of yours while searching for nice OS X hacks and tricks for power users....thanks a lot. Anyway, I was searching to find as much as I could because I'm a software developer (well, actually, an aerospace engineer, but do software as a side business/open-source pleasure)... and I'm creating an app for OS X which will create a persistent store of everything that might be modified prior to first invocation of the program, then with a nice GUI, allowing users to choose what they would like to change. Similar to other tools, some of which no longer exist or don't work on the latest (e.g. El Capitan), but which pushes right past the nonsense bullshit and goes straight to the meat of the matter...anyway, obviously, you are sharing this with the world, but I always like to mention and request permission to utilize your collection (obviously not verbatim, since it will be translated to C++ and system calls) in this app. I'll be posting it on GitHub...if you're interested in this at all (e.g. providing feedback, if you have any new badass hacks, etc.) just let me know and I'll give you access to the repo once it's up.

So, that was a very long way of blabbing, I apologize. My main intention was to make sure you don't have any problems with my using your collection in this software. Violating someone else's IP is a pet peeve of mine...so do accept my apology if you couldn't care less...and, once again, thanks for sharing this. Ignore the naysayers who have the unbelievable guile to demonize you after they ran some script they found on the internet without ( a-reading it || b-understanding what it does || c-realizing the ramifications || d-taking the time to decide whether to perform one of the changes or not ) or more likely all of the above ( a && b && c && d ). You weren't required to post any of this, much less with the careful attention to detail you gave it and even more much less the fact that you gave options and choices for many of the settings. Some people will gripe about anything.

@sietec thank you for the kind words :)

I'm 100% ok with you using any of this in your software, free of charge and as-is, yada yada. If you want to attribute me or anyone else mentioned here who contributed, be my guest. I'd love to see the output of your software and I might include it in here if you publish it open source or make it available for everyone to use.

Cheers!

I messed up when starting this up. how do I reverse it?
and I know i shouldnt have done it blindly, but I know nothing about code, sadly.

@idontactuallyknowhowtocode I'm not sure how far the script ran, generally this is run on a brand new installation of OS X so I would consider just re-installing OS X

@brandonb927 Since some changes require a reboot to take effect, why not include a prompt to make things simpler to use?

Here's my code, at the very end of the script:

echo  ''
cecho 'Some changes require a reboot to take effect. Reboot?'        $lityellow
cecho "['y', 'yes', 'yeah', 'n', 'no', 'reboot', 'ok' or 'okay'.]" $lityellow
read -r response
if [[ $response =~ ^([yY]|[yY][eE][sS]|[yY][eE][aA][hH]|[rR][eE][bB][oO][oO][tT]|[oO][kK]|[oO][kK][aA][yY])$ ]];
then
  osascript -e 'tell app "System Events" to restart' # restart without showing a confirmation dialog
else
  cecho 'Some changes require a reboot to take effect.' $lityellow
  exit
fi

I still haven't tested this yet, though, but you get the idea. I will include this into mine.

@brandonb927 you might want to update

Hide the menu bar?
to
Hide the menu bar? (y/n)

@kvpb @dgitman thanks for the suggestions!

Hi @brandonb927, thanks for the script.

Do you know how i can undo the snap-to-grid setting in line 456?
I thought it would be nice to have but it seems slower and i actually prefer the default setting.

Thanks!

I think your C.l.o.u.d.-To-Butt text substitor is a bit too aggressive. Line 172 probably shouldn't have NSDocumentSaveNewDocumentsToButt.

"iButt", however, is a fantastic name for Apple's cloud service suite. I hope it catches on.

@izaaklauer Rats! I will fix that :)

@Pustur You'd have to take a look at a fresh installation, I'm not too sure.

Has anyone figured out how to get the fast key-repeat on sierra? :/

@albinekb, defaults write -g KeyRepeat -int 1 and defaults write -g InitialKeyRepeat -int 10

Note: I will not be maintaining this for macOS and beyond

@mathiasbynens has a well-maintained version that I've basically pulled everything from until this point, and some. You can continue to fork this script and add your own bits and pieces, but I will not be maintaining it as I've upgraded to macOS and won't be going backwards.

Thanks everyone for your support. I will check in here every now and again as Github has not implemented Gist commenting into the main Notifications panel 😑

🍻 Cheers!

@brandon927: Anyone know of a port of this for maxOS?

@pathikrit most, if not all, of these commands and tweaks will work, I just won't be supporting/keeping it up to date going forward.