Hey, I will move soon to macOS as my main os. I am currently using Linux as my main os and from what I know, macOS is similar to Linux. I also wanted to ask some questions beforehand: There are few cli package managers for macOS but which one is the best? Will it be hard for me to use macOS if I am using currently Linux? Which keys on mac keyboard work same as keys on windows keyboard?
There is no best package manager (depends entirely on what you’re looking for) but I would +1 Brew.
Keyboard is different but it’s just another layout with a few quirks, nothing hard to get used to ;)
On a Mac forget about seriously tweaking the OS to fit your needs (even some basic stuff are not doable, like moving the menubar sitting on the top of the screen). I’ve been using Apple since the 80s and I’ve seen it close all the doors to personalization and customization, making harder and harder… Even more so during the last decade.
Apps: there are many amazing apps available for Mac, true gems, but get ready to pay for almost any that is not CLI or provided by Apple (even Safari extensions, most are paid for).
I’ve switched the other way around, to Linux and I still miss a few Mac apps (mostly, from indie devs). I don’t miss macOS itself that much beside Spotlight which after all those many years is still unrivaled be it on Windows and on Linux.
The day 1 hurdle for me on unfamiliar paradigms was how to install applications.
As a software engineer brew is good for some stuff, but a lot of apps you will likely be downloading binaries from the Internet like Windows. When you download an app they will usually come as .dmg files which are like disk images.
When you mount a dmg, it will pop up a window with an app icon and your applications folder.
And you might then think “What the hell do I do with this”
Well, what you do with it is drag the app icon to the applications folder. And then it’s installed. You can do that through finder too - the “installer” window just provides a convenient shortcut.
And to uninstall an app, simply delete it from the Applications folder. That’s how it’s done on mac.
Been forced to use mac for like two years now. Have not figured it out.
Command is like Ctrl, not Control. Option is like AltGr… Almost. But there is no left or right separation (alt/altgr). Option cannot be used as a modifier like on linux like super can. I use a windows keyboard and move command to ctrl, control to super, and option to alt.
Then if you ever gotten used to the two clipboards that linux has (highlight + middleclick & ctrl+c/ctrl+v), only one remains but some terminals emulate this behaviour. I would suggest you turn it off right away, because it gets very confusing.
I have used brew for a package manager. It is not great. I had issues where a package upgrade would break my workflow but it did not keep an older version for a downgrade. If it was my personal mac, and for some reason I would keep macos on it, then I would try nix as a package manager instead. Also, if you use bash or not, you probably want to install latest bash (mac only ships with a very old bash).
I have not found a terminal emulator I really like, but I use kitty since it allows me to remap some keys. I suggest you start looking for a terminal that you like right away.
Be aware that some symbol keys may be in different places that don’t match a Windows keyboard. This can be especially annoying when using an external Windows keyboard as the printed markings will be misleading.
You can use a utility like karabiner-elements to rebind affected keys and retain your sanity.
It’s shell so there’s a lot of command overlap. I would check out homebrew package manager
Command is usually used in place of control in windows style shortcuts. So cmd+x/c/v instead of ctrl.
- Package mgr: homebrew
- macOS is true Unix, based on BSD
- default shell is zfs but you can switch
- it will only be hard if you don’t RTFM, aka the Help menu in every gui app, and if you tinker with low level hw settings like on linux
- Instead of Ctrl you use Cmd key, but otherwise many kb shortcuts are the same across all 3 major os
I use homebrew as it has good list of package formulas. You can also check out macports.
Colima is a must if you run containers.
Command key instead of control for shortcuts.
Cmd-, app preferences
Cmd-c/x/v for copy/cut/paste
Cmd-shift-4 to capture part of screen (draw a box). Press spacebar to change to window screenshot.
Enable tap to click and extra gestures for the trackpad if you have one. Multi finger swipes are very useful.
