Set Up Your Mac

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Set Up Your Mac apps

These are free Mac apps that set up your developer environment. Each checks what you already have, installs and configures what is missing, and verifies everything works.

Set Up Your Mac is a family of free macOS apps from the author of the Mac Install Guide. Each app does one job reliably: it checks what you already have, installs and configures what is missing, and then proves the result works in a fresh terminal. You finish with a working setup, not just a download.

The apps do everything the written Mac Install Guide articles cover, but faster and with a verified result. They are free. There is no paid upgrade, no trial period, no account to create. Every app is signed and notarized by Apple, shows each change before executing, and does not run in the background after you quit. Full details on data and privacy are in the Set Up Your Mac privacy policy.

Here is more about each app. Choose the one that matches the job you need done.

Set Up Your Mac for Claude Code

Set Up Your Mac for Claude Code installs and configures Claude Code, Anthropic's AI coding tool. It installs Homebrew if you do not have it, then the Claude Code CLI and (if you want it) the Claude Desktop app, configures your shell, and verifies the claude command works. It goes beyond a bare install: it can set up a starter project (with CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md so Claude has context from the first prompt), add agent Skills, and connect MCP servers, so Claude is ready to start real work, not just installed. This app is for anyone who wants to start coding with Claude Code without setting up the developer environment by hand.

Set Up Your Mac for Java

Set Up Your Mac for Java gets Java working on your Mac. The app checks what you have, installs the right Java version, sets JAVA_HOME correctly, and proves it works. It is made for people who were told "you need Java" for an app, a game, or a course, and would rather not learn shell configuration to get there.

Mac Install Medic for Java

Mac Install Medic for Java fixes the "Unable to locate a Java Runtime" error. The app diagnoses what is missing, installs a Java runtime, sets JAVA_HOME, and confirms the fix worked. It is made for people who already have the error and want it gone.

Why use an app instead of a tutorial

The Mac Install Guide tutorials explain every step and the reasons behind them, and they are still the best way to understand the why. But sometimes it is better to just get the setup done, with confidence, and learn the details later. The apps do exactly what the tutorials describe, far faster, without glitches from typos or oversights.

The verification step is the most valuable part. Each app opens a fresh terminal and proves the result works, so you know the setup is finished, not just downloaded.

Safe by design

Every Set Up Your Mac app follows the same rules:

  • Signed and notarized by Apple. macOS Gatekeeper launches each app after the standard "downloaded from the internet" confirmation.
  • Nothing happens behind your back. The app shows each change before it runs: the package it will install, the shell line it will add, and the backup it will make. Your own files are never overwritten.
  • No background activity. There is no menu bar app, no launchd service, and no auto-launch at login. When you quit, the app is gone until you open it again.
  • Anonymous by default. The apps send anonymous event counts only, never your name, email, IP address, or file contents. See the privacy policy.

Continue setting up your Mac

These apps each set up one piece of your Mac development environment. For the full picture, see the visual roadmap and checklist to set up a Mac for software development.