MacBook Environment Set Up for iOS Development

Step-by-step MacBook setting up guide tools needed for iOS apps development

Published in

iOSnesia

3 min readDec 30, 2022

I have been an iOS developer for years, and yet I keep forgetting which tools I should install when setting up my new MacBook. For anyone who has the same struggle as me, here are your cheat sheets that will help you to set up your MacBook to be ready for iOS development, especially when you are working in teams. I write these tools in order, so you might have to install them from top to bottom. I also will explain the function of each tool, so you can consider whether you need to install it or not. Make sure you create an Admin user on your MacBook before doing any of these steps. I hope it will be useful for you!

XCode

Function: For obvious reasons. 😄
How to install:
1. Open App Store.
2. Search for XCode and click Get.
3. Alternatively, you can download it here if you do not want to login into App Store.

XCode Command Line Tool

Function: Xcode Command Line Tools are tools for software developers that run on the command line in the Terminal application.
How to install:
Open Terminal and run this line below.

$ xcode-select --install

Homebrew

Function: Cited from its website, Homebrew is the missing package manager for macOS (or Linux). I personally use this to install some developer tools easily, like installing Git.
How to install:
Open Terminal and run this line below.

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

Git

Function: Tools you need to use version control services like Github, Gitlab, Bitbucket, etc.
How to install:
Open Terminal and run this line below. Don’t forget to set up your account after doing this step.

$ brew install git

Rosetta (Apple Silicon M1 & M2 Only)

Function: Rosetta enables a Mac with Apple silicon to use apps built for a Mac with an Intel processor. In this case, I need Rosetta to install CocoaPods. If you do not plan to install that, you might not need this.
How to install:
Open Terminal and run this line below.

$ softwareupdate - install-rosetta

Ruby Version Manager (Intel Chip Only)

Function: Ruby Version Manager is a command-line tool which allows you to easily install, manage, and work with multiple ruby environments, from interpreters to sets of gems. In this case, I need Ruby Version Manager to install CocoaPods. If you do not plan to install that, you might not need this.
How to install:
1. Install GnuPG

$ brew install gnupg
$ gpg --keyserver hkp://pool.sks-keyservers.net --recv-keys 409B6B1796C275462A1703113804BB82D39DC0E3 7D2BAF1CF37B13E2069D6956105BD0E739499BDB

2. Install RVM

$ \curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io | bash

3. Install some ruby version such as 2.7.1

$ rvm install 2.7.1

CocoaPods

Function: CocoaPods is the most popular dependency manager for iOS projects. You might need CocoaPods to install many iOS project libraries like Alamofire. Make sure you install Rosetta or Ruby Version Manager first before installing CocoaPods.
How to install:
Open Terminal and run this line below.

$ sudo gem install cocoapods