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1. Comprehensive Backup Strategy

Before resetting, back up these critical items:

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1.1. System Configuration Backup

# Create backup directory
mkdir ~/macos_backup
cd ~/macos_backup

# Save installed apps list
ls /Applications > installed_apps.txt

# Save system settings
system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType > system_profile.txt
defaults read > user_defaults.txt
networksetup -listallnetworkservices > network_config.txt

# Save directory structure
find ~ -maxdepth 3 -type d > directory_tree.txt

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1.2. Development Files Backup

# Backup version manager configurations
cp -r ~/.nvm ~/macos_backup/nvm_backup
cp -r ~/.pyenv ~/macos_backup/pyenv_backup
cp -r ~/.conda ~/macos_backup/conda_backup

# Backup SSH/GPG keys
cp -r ~/.ssh ~/macos_backup/ssh_backup
cp -r ~/.gnupg ~/macos_backup/gnupg_backup

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1.3. Full Disk Backup

  1. Connect external drive (2x your Mac’s storage)
  2. Go to  > System Settings > Time Machine
  3. Select backup disk and enable “Back Up Automatically”
  4. Click “Back Up Now” and wait for completion

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2. Reset macOS (Erase & Reinstall)

(Follow same steps as previous guide for Recovery Mode and reinstallation)

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3. Fast System Setup

(Follow same Welcome Assistant skipping steps as previous guide)

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4. Developer Environment Setup

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4.1. Install Homebrew (Package Manager)

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

# Add to PATH (Apple Silicon)
echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

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4.2. Core Development Tools

# Install using Homebrew
brew install --cask warp google-chrome miniconda

# Install CLI tools
brew install git nvm deno go

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4.3. Python Ecosystem Setup

# Initialize Conda
conda init zsh
source ~/.zshrc

# Install UV (Fast Python installer)
pip install uv

# Create and activate Python environment
uv venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

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4.4. Node.js Environment

# Configure nvm
mkdir ~/.nvm
echo 'export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo '[ -s "/opt/homebrew/opt/nvm/nvm.sh" ] && \. "/opt/homebrew/opt/nvm/nvm.sh"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Install Node.js
nvm install --lts
npm install -g npm@latest

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4.5. Verify Installations

# Run verification script
echo "
=== Installation Report ===
Brew:       $(brew --version | head -n1)
Git:        $(git --version)
Warp:       $(warp --version)
Miniconda:  $(conda --version)
Python:     $(python --version | cut -d' ' -f2)
UV:         $(uv --version)
nvm:        $(nvm --version)
Node:       $(node --version)
npm:        $(npm --version)
Deno:       $(deno --version | head -n1)
Go:         $(go version)
Chrome:     $(/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version)
" > install_report.txt

cat install_report.txt

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5. Post-Installation Optimization

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5.1. Configure Warp Terminal

  1. Launch Warp from Applications
  2. Sign in with GitHub for sync
  3. Enable GPU acceleration in Settings > Appearance
  4. Add shell integrations: warp integrations install

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5.2. Chrome Development Setup

# Open Chrome with developer flags
open -a "Google Chrome" --args \
    --enable-features=ExperimentalJavaScript \
    --disable-site-isolation-trials \
    --auto-open-devtools-for-tabs

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5.3. Create Development Workspace

mkdir -p ~/dev/{projects,scripts,repos,temp}
echo "export DEV_HOME=~/dev" >> ~/.zshrc

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5.4. Restore Critical Backups

# Restore SSH/GPG keys
cp -r ~/macos_backup/ssh_backup/* ~/.ssh/
cp -r ~/macos_backup/gnupg_backup/* ~/.gnupg/

# Set proper permissions
chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/*

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Pro Maintenance Tips

Weekly Maintenance Script: 
#!/bin/zsh
brew update
brew upgrade
brew cleanup
conda update --all -y
npm update -g
deno upgrade
go get -u all
Disk Cleanup: 
# Remove system junk
sudo rm -rf /private/var/log/*
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/*
Backup Automation:
  1. Configure Time Machine for hourly backups
  2. Sync critical code to GitHub/GitLab
  3. Use rsync for project backups:
rsync -avz --delete ~/dev/projects/ /Volumes/BackupDrive/dev_projects/
This guide provides:
  1. Comprehensive pre-reset backups
  2. Efficient macOS reinstallation
  3. Complete development environment setup
  4. Post-install optimization scripts
  5. Maintenance automation
The entire process takes 90-120 minutes but results in a clean, fully-configured development machine with version-controlled environments and backup systems.
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