Module 3 · Page 3 of 7 · 30 minutes

Install on macOS

Every command on this page runs in Terminal, using Homebrew to install most of the eight tools from the previous page. Follow it top to bottom — some steps depend on the one before it finishing first. (On Windows? Skip to the Windows walkthrough instead.)

Installation instructions

Follow the following step in sequence. The installation process should take 30-60 minutes.

Step 1: Find Your Terminal

A computer terminal is a plain text window where you type direct commands to your computer using a keyboard, instead of clicking pictures, buttons, or icons with a mouse. It is like a direct text-only chat room with the core of your machine.

Press Cmd + Space to open Spotlight, type Terminal, and press Enter. You'll see a prompt that looks something like yourname@MacBook ~ %. ~ is shorthand for your home folder — it shows where you currently are. % marks the end of the prompt — that's where you type.

A macOS Terminal window showing the prompt xlong8@XIAOYANG-LONG-MacBook-Pro ~ % with the cursor ready for input. — A real Terminal window. Yours will show your own username and computer name instead. (The `(base)` prefix shown here comes from Miniconda, which you haven't installed yet — don't worry if your prompt doesn't have it at this point in the page.)

To do this	Do this
Run a command	Type it, then press Enter
Cancel whatever is running	Ctrl + C
Copy	Cmd + C
Paste	Cmd + V
Clear the screen	Cmd + K
Recall your last command	Up arrow

Step 2: Xcode Command Line Tools

This step installs a small set of developer utilities (about 740 MB) — not the full Xcode app (10+ GB). You don't need Xcode itself for this course. Copy and paste the following text into your terminal and click enter.

xcode-select --install

A dialog box will walk you through the rest. Verify once it's done by entering:

xcode-select -p

A file path means it's installed; an error means the install above hasn't finished yet.

Step 3: Homebrew

Homebrew is a very popular tool for downloading software packages on Mac. Once it is installed, you can install other packages like Git, Node.js, VS Code, etc., through a single terminal command, without having to go to their respective official websites.

The install command below also lives on Homebrew's own website, brew.sh:

The Homebrew homepage at brew.sh, showing the tagline 'The Package Manager for Everywhere' and the install command in a terminal-style box: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" — Homebrew's homepage at brew.sh, with the same install command shown below.

Open your terminal, copy and paste the following command, press enter:

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

You will now be prompted to enter your computer password. Keep in mind that nothing will appear on the screen while you type---this is normal and a safety measure. Press enter when you are done.

Additional step for Apple Silicon Macs (M1 or later), Homebrew installs to /opt/homebrew, which isn't on your PATH by default. Run these two lines once, exactly as shown, to fix that:

echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
source ~/.zprofile

Tip Not sure which chip your Mac has? Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner → About This Mac. Look for the line labeled "Chip" — if it says Apple M1, M2, M3, or similar, you're on Apple Silicon and the step above applies to you. If it says Intel, skip it.

Verify:

brew doctor
brew --version

brew doctor should say "Your system is ready to brew."

Step 4: Node.js, Git, Pandoc, VS Code, and Miniconda — all at once

With Homebrew in place, most of the remaining list is one command. Command-line tools install plainly; applications with a window (VS Code, Miniconda) install as --cask:

brew install git node pandoc
brew install --cask visual-studio-code miniconda

This takes a few minutes. Verify each one:

git --version
node --version
npm --version
pandoc --version
code --version

(Miniconda's own conda --version check comes later, once it's initialized below — running it now, before that step, won't work yet.)

Step 5: Claude Code

Install it with:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Verify:

claude --version

Step 6: Finish Git and Python setup

Two tools need a one-time configuration step before they're ready to use.

Git needs to know who you are, so it can label the changes it tracks. Enter the following command in your terminal (replace name and email with your own information):

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your@email.com"

For example:

git config --global user.name "Jamie Chen"
git config --global user.email "jamie.chen@university.edu"

Tip Use your school email address if you can. Later in the course, you'll likely want to link a GitHub account to this same email — students typically qualify for free GitHub perks (like GitHub Pro or Copilot) through their school email, so starting with it now saves you from redoing this step later.

Verify:

git config --global --list

Conda needs to hook itself into your shell:

conda init zsh

Close Terminal and reopen it. Your prompt should now start with (base) — that means conda is active. Verify:

conda --version
python --version

Step 7: Confirm everything

In a fresh Terminal window, run all of these. Each should print a version number:

git --version
node --version
npm --version
conda --version
pandoc --version
code --version
claude --version

macOS: frequently asked questions

macOS says an installer is from an "unidentified developer" — what do I do?
Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click "Open Anyway" next to the blocked item.

Homebrew is installing very slowly.
This is usually just a slow connection to GitHub. Let it finish rather than restarting partway through — restarting usually makes it slower, not faster.

Terminal asked for my Mac password during an install — is that normal?
Yes. Several of these installers need permission to make system-level changes, so a password prompt partway through is expected, not a sign something went wrong.

A command says "not found" right after I installed it.
Close Terminal and reopen it. Installers update your PATH, but a Terminal window that was already open won't see the change.

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