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Show HN: OpenBoot – 2 commands to replace a 3-hour Mac setup ritual

10 points by superjam2026 8mo ago

superjam2026 8mo ago
Hey HN, creator here. Tired of the 3-hour new Mac ritual. Brewfile only covers packages — OpenBoot handles the whole stack: packages, dotfiles, shell, macOS prefs, git identity. Killer feature turned out to be `openboot snapshot` — captures your setup as a shareable URL, team clones it with one command. Go + Bubble Tea, MIT, zero telemetry. What do you use to solve this? Brewfile? nix-darwin? What am I missing?
- SOLAR_FIELDS 8mo ago
  Nix-Darwin. I have a config repo I push to GitHub and new machines get completely provisioned in minutes. The setup is essentially: 1. Download XCode command line tools (to get git) 2. Generate SSH key 3. Add ssh key to GitHub in safari 4. Install Nix using the vanilla installation method 5. Clone the repo and enter the nix shell which has automation tooling and command line tools to run the rest of the bootstrap 6. Ensure that I’m connected to a fast internet because Lol Nix Lets Go Download 8Gb Of Packages 7. Invoke the home manager configuration switch from the nix shell and come back 15 mins later to a completely fully provisioned machine If you are okay with your nix config being public you can even skip steps 2 and 3
  - superjam2026 8mo ago
    Nix-Darwin is the right call if you're willing to invest the upfront time. Genuinely more powerful. OpenBoot is for whoever looks at step 4 and nopes out. Different crowd. How long before the config felt natural to you?
ewuhic 8mo ago
AI slop shit from someone who never heard of nix. OP's comment below also shows (yes, they NEVER have heard of nix, it's all meaningless AI slop).
- abrookewood 8mo ago
  Not everyone is prepared to use Nix even if they appreciate it's approach.
linksnapzz 8mo ago
When using the the term 'OpenBoot' in the context of a Mac, ppl are going to think that you're talking about the Fcode-based PROM environment common to PPC macs of yore. I know I did...
- netsharc 8mo ago
  Such an obnoxiously dumb name...
- superjam2026 8mo ago
  Fair point — didn't know about the PPC Open Firmware connection. Name's sticking for now, but good to know people might confuse it. Appreciate the heads up.

10 points by superjam2026 8mo ago

superjam2026 8mo ago

Hey HN, creator here. Tired of the 3-hour new Mac ritual. Brewfile only covers packages — OpenBoot handles the whole stack: packages, dotfiles, shell, macOS prefs, git identity. Killer feature turned out to be `openboot snapshot` — captures your setup as a shareable URL, team clones it with one command. Go + Bubble Tea, MIT, zero telemetry. What do you use to solve this? Brewfile? nix-darwin? What am I missing?

SOLAR_FIELDS 8mo ago
Nix-Darwin. I have a config repo I push to GitHub and new machines get completely provisioned in minutes. The setup is essentially: 1. Download XCode command line tools (to get git) 2. Generate SSH key 3. Add ssh key to GitHub in safari 4. Install Nix using the vanilla installation method 5. Clone the repo and enter the nix shell which has automation tooling and command line tools to run the rest of the bootstrap 6. Ensure that I’m connected to a fast internet because Lol Nix Lets Go Download 8Gb Of Packages 7. Invoke the home manager configuration switch from the nix shell and come back 15 mins later to a completely fully provisioned machine If you are okay with your nix config being public you can even skip steps 2 and 3
- superjam2026 8mo ago
  Nix-Darwin is the right call if you're willing to invest the upfront time. Genuinely more powerful. OpenBoot is for whoever looks at step 4 and nopes out. Different crowd. How long before the config felt natural to you?

ewuhic 8mo ago

AI slop shit from someone who never heard of nix. OP's comment below also shows (yes, they NEVER have heard of nix, it's all meaningless AI slop).

abrookewood 8mo ago
Not everyone is prepared to use Nix even if they appreciate it's approach.

linksnapzz 8mo ago

When using the the term 'OpenBoot' in the context of a Mac, ppl are going to think that you're talking about the Fcode-based PROM environment common to PPC macs of yore. I know I did...

netsharc 8mo ago
Such an obnoxiously dumb name...
superjam2026 8mo ago
Fair point — didn't know about the PPC Open Firmware connection. Name's sticking for now, but good to know people might confuse it. Appreciate the heads up.