.computer

Quick start

sudo ./bin/bootstrap.sh

What this does

This repo is my one command setup for a fresh Mac. It installs Nix, applies a nix-darwin system configuration, wires in Home Manager for user level dotfiles, and brings in my apps and CLI tools. It also applies a few macOS defaults so the machine feels right from the start.

How it works

The bin/bootstrap.sh script is the entry point. It runs with set -euo pipefail for safety and walks through these steps:

1. Verifies the OS is macOS.
2. Caches sudo so you are not prompted repeatedly.
3. Ensures Xcode Command Line Tools are present. If they are missing it kicks off the Apple installer and waits until it finishes.
4. On Apple Silicon it installs Rosetta if needed.
5. Installs Nix using the Determinate Systems installer in multi user mode.
6. Exposes Nix in the current shell and enables flakes and nix-command for the session.
7. Applies the system configuration with nix-darwin using the flake at nix-darwin#kpm.
8. Prints a completion message. Some changes require a new shell or log out and in.

The tech behind it

• Nix flakes: reproducible inputs and outputs for the system configuration.
• nix-darwin: manages macOS system settings and system packages declaratively.
• Home Manager: manages user level programs and dotfiles.
• Determinate Systems installer: fast and reliable Nix install on macOS.

What gets installed

From nix-darwin and home-manager the flake installs these packages by default:

• Apps: 1Password, ChatGPT, Cursor, Google Chrome, iTerm2, Obsidian, Postman, Raycast, Shottr, Slack.
• Terminal: Neovim, oh my posh, oh my zsh, zoxide.
• Dev utilities: asdf, GitHub CLI, git, Graphite CLI.

Configuration that is applied

• User and shell

  • Sets the login shell for kyle to zsh from Nix packages.

• Zsh setup

  • Enables oh my zsh with the agnoster theme and plugins git, npm, history, and node.
  • Adds Nix paths to PATH so Nix binaries are available.
  • Sources ~/.computer/zsh/evals.zsh and ~/.computer/zsh/aliases.zsh if present.
  • Initializes asdf and shell completions.

• Git

  • Uses the full git build with helpers and configures the osxkeychain credential helper.

• Neovim

  • Home Manager links ~/.config/nvim to ~/.computer/nvim so my editor config is versioned in this repo.

• macOS defaults

  • Dock auto hide on, orientation left, no recents, no magnification, slightly faster auto hide animation.

Re running and updating

You can re run the bootstrap safely. If Nix is already installed the script skips the install and only switches to the flake configuration. You can also switch directly with this command:

nix-rebuild

Troubleshooting

• If the nix command is not found after the first run open a new terminal window and try again.
• The Xcode Command Line Tools step can open a system dialog. Let it finish before you expect the script to continue.
• On Apple Silicon Rosetta install is best effort. It is fine if it is already installed.