Mac OS - Aliases Management#

Quick Restore (Workstation Rebuild):

1. Clone your scripts: git clone git@github.com:marcoue/Scripts.git ~/Scripts
2. Run the restore script: source ~/Scripts/MacOS/Aliases/MacOS_Aliases_restore.sh
3. Retrieve local secrets from your 1Password Homelab Vault under the entry Mac OS .zshrc file and copy them into your local ~/.zshrc (Edit using: nano ~/.zshrc).
4. Refresh your shell configuration to apply the new tokens: source ~/.zshrc.

Related Recovery Guides: Master Checklist: Mac OS - Recovery | Packages Sync: Mac OS - Brewfile | Repository Standard: Scripts Mangement.

Installing and Launching Pi (pi.dev)#

Follow these steps to set up the Pi coding agent on your Mac Studio and link it straight to your custom local short-context models.

1 Environment Preparation#

Because Pi is a JavaScript terminal application, it runs on Node.js. If you do not have Node installed yet, use Homebrew to get it ready.

1.1 Install Node.js via Homebrew#

brew install node

2 Installation#

Install the official global Pi command-line tool. As noted in the documentation, we include the security flag to bypass unnecessary third-party package scripts.

macOS System Administration & Optimization#

Workstation Recovery & Rebuild Standard: If you need to rebuild your Mac Studio or synchronize its software and aliases with another Mac, refer to the master checklist at Mac OS - Recovery.

1 Modify Known Hosts#

# Add description
nano ~/.ssh/known_hosts

# To remove a specific host
ssh-keygen -R 10.1.1.14

# Clear the full file
cat /dev/null > ~/.ssh/known_hosts

2 Disk Management & Diagnostics#

2.1 Identify and Verify Disks#

# List all physical and virtual disks
diskutil list

# Verify a specific disk (replace X with disk number)
diskutil verifyDisk /dev/diskX

2.2 SMART Monitoring (via Homebrew)#

# Install smartmontools
brew install smartmontools

# Check health of the primary NVMe drive
smartctl -a /dev/disk0

3 Homebrew Package Manager#

Official site: brew.sh

Windows 11 Optimization & SSH Setup#

This guide covers privacy hardening by disabling the “Recall” feature and setting up SSH keys for remote access to your homelab infrastructure.

1. Managing Windows Recall (AI Privacy)#

Windows Recall captures snapshots of your screen to help you find things you’ve seen. For increased privacy, you can manage this feature via the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool.

Check Status#

Run Command Prompt (CMD) as Administrator and execute: