Development Environment Setup (aarch64-darwin)

This guide outlines the core steps to initialize a development environment on Apple Silicon.

Required

  • VS Code: Install via direct download. Instruction found online.
  • Homebrew: Install via the official shell script. Instruction found online.
  • Nix Package Manager: Install the Nix package manager. Instruction found online.
  • Xcode IDE: Installation options available either directly within Apple App Store. Alternatively, try the xcodes tool, which should be available for use in devenv setup. This may be necessary if you are on older Intel Mac who cannot get the latest Xcode.
  • Xcode Command Line Tools: Run in the terminal
xcode-select --install

Nix Configuration

Edit with sudo /etc/nix/nix.conf to enable experimental features and trust your local user. To find your current macOS username, run:

whoami

Add these lines to the configuration file (replacing $MAC_USERNAME with your actual username):

experimental-features = nix-command flakes
trusted-users = root $MAC_USERNAME

Nix setup will modify your /etc/zshrc. When OS X updates, it will sometimes restore the original /etc/zshrc. Check the bottom of your /etc/zshrc, you should see the following:

# Nix
if [ -e '/nix/var/nix/profiles/default/etc/profile.d/nix-daemon.sh' ]; then
  . '/nix/var/nix/profiles/default/etc/profile.d/nix-daemon.sh'
fi
# End Nix

If it is NOT there, you want to add this back to the bottom of your /etc/zshrc. Or you can try to future proof things a little, and add it to the top of your own ~/.zshrc.

Add Packages

Install the primary CLI toolset via nix profile:

nix profile install nixpkgs#git nixpkgs#direnv nixpkgs#devenv nixpkgs#tree

Project Workflow

To initialize a project environment (devenv supported environment only):

Clone the desired repository. Enter environment: Do the following while you are in the project root directory.

  • Run devenv shell manually, or
  • Run direnv allow to automatically load the .envrc configuration upon entering the directory.

NOTE: Building shell will need a stable internet connection and possibly takes a long time. Please plan accordingly. After the first-time building shell has finished, the download is cached and repeat runs is almost instantaneous.

Optional Enhancements

Nix Package Registry Customization

If you need to use unfree packages (i.e. proprietary software), run this command once to update your registry:

nix registry add nixpkgs github:numtide/nixpkgs-unfree/nixos-unstable

Applications & Shell

iTerm2: Install as a terminal emulator replacement. Generally nicer than MacOS system terminal. Instruction found online. Zsh Plugins: Enhance your zsh shell with zsh-autosuggestions, zsh-completions, and zsh-syntax-highlighting. Installable via homebrew.