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macOS Goodies

Apps:

  • Alfred, launch on login
  • Rectangle, launch on login, use Spectacle key bindings, change Repeated commands -> cycle sizes on half actions
  • iStat Menus, launch on login
  • Firefox, pin to Dock
  • Thunderbird, pin to Dock, click top-right button and change ui density and font size in the menu
  • Visual Studio Code, pin to Dock
  • WeChat, pin to Dock
  • iTerm, pin to Dock
  • Squirrel Rime
  • 1Password
  • Homebrew with TUNA Mirrors
  • Nix home-manager, Setup trusted users: echo "trusted-users = $USER" >> /etc/nix/nix.conf && sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.nixos.nix-daemon.plist && sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.nixos.nix-daemon.plist
  • Rustup & Crates.io with TUNA Mirrors
  • Windows App
  • Tencent Meeting
  • MikTeX
  • Skim
  • 芒果 TV
  • NetNewsWire
  • TimeMachine logging: log stream --style syslog --predicate 'senderImagePath contains[cd] "TimeMachine"' --info
  • Rosetta 2: softwareupdate --install-rosetta --agree-to-license
  • Ghidra: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /opt/homebrew/Caskroom/ghidra
  • Image Capture: access photos from iOS or HarmonyOS NEXT via USB

Configs:

  • defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false for press and hold
  • Settings -> Control Center -> Battery -> Show in Control Center -> Disabled
  • Settings -> Control Center -> Menu Bar Only -> Spotlight -> Don't Show in Menu Bar -> Siri -> Don't Show in Menu Bar
  • Settings -> Trackpad -> Look up & data detectors -> Tap with Three Fingers
  • Settings -> Trackpad -> Tap to click -> Enabled
  • Settings -> Accessibility -> Pointer Control -> Trackpad Options -> Use trackpad for dragging -> Enabled -> Dragging style -> Three Finger Drag
  • Settings -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts... -> Modifier Keys -> Caps Lock key -> Escape
  • Settings -> Desktop & Dock -> Hot Corners... -> Bottom Right -> Lock Screen -> Bottom Left -> Mission Control
  • Settings -> Keyboard -> Text Input -> Edit... -> Add period with double-space -> Off -> Done
  • sudo scutil --set HostName newhostname
  • Disk Utility -> Volume + -> Name: Data -> Add
  • Time Machine: backup daily, create APFS Container on external disk, create Time Machine volumes for each machine separately

Danger Zone:

  • Disabling and Enabling System Integrity Protection
  • Generating a Non-Maskable Interrupt
  • Kernel Core Dumps
  • Trigger kernel panic: sudo dtrace -w -n "BEGIN{ panic();}", it will reboot automatically
  • Generate kernel core dump on panic: sudo nvram boot-args="debug=0x400" (0x400 means DB_KERN_DUMP_ON_PANIC, you can add other bitflags), applied after reboot; core dumps are saved under /var/tmp/kernel_panics
  • Find panic log under /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/panic-full-*.panic
  • Allow loading custom kernel module: long-press power button to enter boot menu, enter Options, enter recovery of the macOS in use, Utilities -> Startup Security Utility, unlock disk, Security Policy... -> Permissive Security -> Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers -> OK.

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