Apps I Install on My Mac

Here is a list of applications and programs I install on my Mac. I use this list to remind myself when setting up a new Mac, and hope it can help others when choosing Apps. I am a PhD student major in physical organic chemistry, especially on single molecular electrical properties of organic molecules. I am also interested in programming (python, macOS/iOS), so there is bunch of programming things in the list.

Programming/Development

Xcode

Downloaded from App Store. It is necessary for writing macOS/iOS Apps and also important for installing Xcode Command Line Tools.

Xcode Command Line Tools

Install by opening Xcode once or by command line:

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xcode-select --install

Homebrew

Package/Library management tool for macOS. Once there is Homebrew, it is much easier to install things on macOS! I hope Apple can include Homebrew with macOS.

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

iTerm2

Terminal replacement for macOS. Download from the following link: https://iterm2.com/downloads/stable/latest. or easily install through homebrew:

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brew install --cask iterm2

zsh

zsh is a recplacement of bash. It is now the default shell for macOS later than Catalina. Install through brew:

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brew install zsh

Oh my zsh

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curl -L https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/raw/master/tools/install.sh | sh

And don’t forget to set up theme for zsh.

Python

Install Python 3 with Homebrew and a series of Python libraries with pip3

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brew install python3
pip3 install numpy scipy matplotlib jupyter pandas tensorflow

Not all libraries supports all Python version.

In such case, use brew install python3@3.8 to specify python version.

Rdkit

rdkit is a library for cheminformatics. It is installed with brew and linked to python’s site-packages directory by ln. You may also add directory of rdkit to PYTHONPATH.

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brew tap rdkit/rdkit
brew install rdkit --with-python3 --without-numpy
ln -s /usr/local/Cellar/rdkit/2017.09.2/lib/python3.6/site-packages/rdkit /usr/local/lib/python3.6/site-packages/rdkit

Do not forget the --with-python3 flag if you want to use it with python3. If it is missing, it will be install with python2. The --without-numpy flag is used if you want to manage numpy with pip3 instead of homebrew.

Sublime Text 4

Sublime Text 4 is a good text editor. It needs a paid license per user. Sadly it does not offer educational discount. Trial version is downloadable from its website or install from homebrew.

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brew install --cask sublime-text

Don’t forget to install package control: https://packagecontrol.io/installation

Packages Installed in Sublime Text:

• Anaconda
• Dictionaries
• Jedi
• LaTeXTools
• Markdown Editing
• Markdown Preview
• Markdown Extended

Homebrew Casks

With homebrew cask, many Apps can be downloaded with one line of command.

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brew install --cask mactex skim
brew install --cask iina xld
brew install --cask pdf-expert
brew install --cask 1password 1password-cli
brew install --cask fork 
brew install --cask google-chrome
brew install --cask firefox
brew install --cask displaycal
brew install --cask dropbox
brew install --cask iterm2
brew install --cask cyberduck
brew install --cask duet
brew install --cask downie
brew install --cask handbrake
brew install --cask teamviewer

General Apps from App Store

iWork (Keynote, Pages, Numbers)

Keynote, Pages, and Numbers

Daily Work

• Twitter
• WhatsApp Desktop
• The Unarchiver
• Slack
• Blackmagic Disk Speed Test
• Magnet
• PCalc
• DaisyDisk
• Telegram Desktop
• Apple Remote Desktop
• Wechat
• Line
• QQ

Pro Apps

• Final Cut Pro
• Motion
• Compressor
• Logic Pro X
• MainStage 3

To be continued…