A Fresh Start: My New Streaming and Development Setup

2026-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

Recently, my Mac Studio started acting weirdly, so I decided to wipe the hard drive clean and reinstall my system. This post details the tools and applications I installed to this new system.</p>

My goal for this new system is to keep it lean and minimal, so that it</p>

starts up quickly,</li>
remains stable, and</li>
remains easy-to-maintain.</li> </ul>
With that in mind, let’s start with the foundation of any good setup: typography.</p>
Core System Essentials</h2>
Fonts</h3>
</p>
Berkeley Mono font.</p> </div>
I like to use a few monospace fonts depending on my mood and the use case, here are the ones I added to my system:</p>
- MonoLisa</a>: My go-to font for coding.</li>
- Berkeley Mono</a>: There is no other font that says “Unix” better than this one. That’s another favorite font of mine that I switch and use frequently.</li>
- Pragmata Pro</a>: This is more of an acquired taste: Not everyone’s cup of tea; but if you spend some time and get used to it, you’ll love it. It’s especially great when horizontal space is premium; like checking 20 logs at once.</li>
- Operator Mono</a>: Beautiful font, but (to me</em>) a bit overhyped. Still, I like it and use it occasionally.</li> </ul>
  Beyond fonts, the way I manage windows and automate file operations forms the backbone of my daily workflow.</p>
  Window Manager</h3>
  I use Lasso</a> for window management. Granted, it requires its own post too, I can say that it is one of the things you don’t know you needed until you start using it.</p>
  File Automation</h3>
  I use Hazel</a> to automate file management. It’s yet another app that you don’t know how badly you need until you start using it.</p>
  Storage and Backups</h2>
  With the core system essentials in place, let’s talk about something equally critical: keeping your data safe.</p>
  NAS Setup</h3>
  
  </p>
  Synology Admin UI.</p> </div>
  I got a Synology DS1522+</a> and five 8TB Seagate IronWolf</a> hard drives. Using them together with SHR-2 RAID</a> which gives me slightly more than 20TB of storage, while allowing failure of two drives without losing data.</p>
  That gives me more than enough space to store my data, including stream VODs, virtual machine images, and any other stuff that can consume a lot of space.</p>
  Though, while RAID</strong> is great and gives you redundancy, it’s not a replacement for backup</strong>. So I use, HyperBackup</strong> (from within the Synology Admin UI</em>), to back up my important data to a Backblaze B2</a> bucket.</p>
  After scheduling the backups and verifying that they work, and also setting up email notifications</strong>, so that when a backup fails, or when a drive has a problem, or any other problem occurs in the system, I can confidently forget about backups once and for all: It will just work behind the scenes.</p>
  Synology</strong> is one of the best NAS solutions I’ve ever used. It deserves a post of its own; maybe I’ll write one in the future.</p>
  Streaming and Media Production</h2>
  Now that we’ve covered the essentials and storage, let’s dive into what takes up most of my time: streaming and content creation.</p>
  Audio Hardware</h3>
  My streaming gear consists of:</p>
  
  Shure SM7B XLR Mic</a> (MV7 users might disagree, but I do believe that “SM7B kicks the llama’s ass”</em>)</li>
  CloudLifter CL-X</a> because SM 7B</strong> is gain-hungry.</li>
  Babyface Pro FS</a> because it’s one of the best audio interfaces that pairs really well</strong> with SM 7B</strong>.</li> </ul>
  </p>
  RME TotalMix.</p> </div>
  After installing the drivers for Babyface Pro FS</strong>, RME TotalMix FX</strong></a> (the software interface for Babyface Pro FS</em>) comes pre-installed on my Mac.</p>
  Along with RME TotalMix</strong>, I also installed DigiCheck NG</a>, which is excellent for monitoring my vocals and overall stream output gain.</p>
  Again, setting up TotalMix</strong>, and DigiCheck NG</strong> deserve its own post.</p>
  Camera and Video</h3> For camera, I use OBS Tiny 2</a>, I can confidently say that there is no better webcam for streaming. It can compete with beefier cameras like Canon EOS</em> and Nikon D850</em>. Honestly, I am still surprised a USB webcam can stream at 4K with crisp, crystal-clear video.</p>
  After installing OBSBot Center</strong></a> and its drivers, I’m good to go.</p>
  One thing I did, though, was to disable</strong> any AI</strong> feature, because at times it can interpret my voice as a command, or my gesture to zoom and pan the camera. I don’t want that. I prefer to control the camera manually and want its focus to remain where I want it to be.</p>
  One additional software I had to install in my particular case was CameraGraph</a> because for some reason the streaming software I use (Wirecast</a></em>) was not happy with the camera feed output, so I had to create a virtual camera feed from the webcam.</p>
  Streaming Software</h3>
  For streaming, I use:</p>
  
  Wirecast</a> for streaming.</li>
  OBS Studio</a> for recording.</li> </ul>
  This way, I can send different audio background music tracks to the live stream and the recorded VODs. This is especially useful when I publish the VODs because I may get copyright strikes otherwise.</p>
  Audio Pipeline</h3>
  For audio pipeline setup, along with TotalMix</strong>, I use Audio Hijack</a> and Loopback</a>. Again, these two require a dedicated post of their own. But here are some screenshots to give you an idea:</p>
  
  </p>
  Music streaming AudioHijack session.</p> </div>
  
  </p>
  Stream processing AudioHijack session.</p> </div>
  I also use Native Instruments Ozone Advanced</a> for real-time audio processing such as compression and equalization.</p>
  
  </p>
  Ozone Compressor in action.</p> </div>
  Post-Production</h3>
  For post-production and VOD creation I use ScreenFlow</a> and Adobe Audition</a>.</p>
  I also use Izotope RX</a> toolset (from the same company as Ozone</em>) for various audio post-production work.</p>
  Ah, Stream Deck</a>—no streaming setup is complete without it. Again, it requires its own post.</p>
  
  </p>
  Stream Deck.</p> </div>
  
  </p>
  Stream Deck.</p> </div>
  That covers the streaming part for now, I guess.</p>
  Hardware and Peripherals</h2>
  Switching gears from software to hardware, let’s look at the physical tools that make daily work more comfortable and efficient.</p>
  Mouse and Keyboard</h3>
  I use a Logi MX Master 4</a> for the mouse and cannot recommend it enough. Especially the action ring</strong> and the haptic feedback</strong>, and needless to say, the lightning-fast scrolling makes it a productivity booster.</p>
  
  </p>
  Logi MX Master 4 action ring.</p> </div>
  For keyboard, I opted for a compact form-factor: a NuPhy Halo 75 V2</a> with Brown Max</strong> switches, which gives a good level of tactile feedback while still keeping it quieter than Cherry MX Blue</strong> or similar switches.</p>
  The keyboard is programmable with QMK</a>; maybe a dedicated post for that will come later on, too.</p>
  Productivity and Daily Tools</h2>
  With hardware covered, let’s explore the software that helps me stay organized and productive throughout the day.</p>
  Visual Design and Diagramming</h3>
  For graphic work, I use the following:</p>
  
  Sketch</a>—I still believe it’s better than Figma.</li>
  Wondershare Edraw Max</a> which is a great tool for technical diagrams.</li> </ul>
  Music</h3>
  I have two apps that I use to listen to music:</p>
  
  Endel</a>: I use Endel</strong> for both background music for my stream VODs (to avoid copyright strike</em>) and also for listening to it while I’m working to calm my brain and focus.</li>
  Spotify</a>: Spotify</strong> is my main music app.</li> </ul> Video Conferencing</h3>
  I use Zoom</a> for video conferencing. I also use Zoom</strong> as the video feed when I accept guests to my stream. I’ve found that it works more reliably than any other solution (including Twitch’s “Guest Star” feature</em>) that I’ve tried.</p>
  I don’t install any other video conferencing solution until I have to, but sometimes a peculiar friend might ask “I use Jitsi, and Jitsi only; damn capitalism!</em>” and I may end up installing it.</p>
  Timezone Management</h3> I work with several timezones from the Pacific Timezone, to London, to Italy, to India and Australia. I find World Clock Pro</a> a great tool for managing multiple timezones. It has a nice interface where you can drag a slider to see, for example, what 9pm in your timezone will look like in London and Tokyo. It helps me a lot when I need to plan meetings and other events.</p>
  
  </p>
  World Clock Pro.</p> </div>
  General Productivity</h3>
  While Spotlight is a great search tool, if you need more powerful search functionality over everything on your Mac, then HoudahSpot</a> is one of the best options that give you a lot of flexibility and customization options.</p>
  To manage distractions and keep track of tasks, I use:</p>
  
  Sessions</a></li>
  and InYourFace</a></li> </ul>
  For spelling, document editing, tone correction, and other editorial tasks I use Grammarly (*rebranded as “SuperHuman”)</a>.</p>
  To annotate my desktop in meetings and streaming sessions, I use Presentify</a>.</p>
  As my main browser, I’m using Vivaldi</a>. It needs some exploration and getting-used-to, but especially, being able to group your browsing sessions into “workspaces</em>” is a huge productivity booster.</p>
  For file transfer needs, I use Transmit</a>.</p>
  System Maintenance</h2>
  Keeping a system healthy requires some attention. Here are the tools that help me monitor and maintain my setup.</p>
  Command Line Tools</h3>
  I spend part of my day in the terminal, so having additional tools that make my life easier helps a lot. Here are some of the command line tools that I have installed to my system:</p>
  
  HomeBrew</a> is the first thing to install for any Mac user.</li>
  Mcfly</a> is a fuzzy search tool for the command-line. It’s not strictly necessary, but I like its user experience.</li>
  Starship</a> is a cross-shell prompt tool that is highly-customizable.</li>
  Tokei</a> is a code counter tool. I use it to see how many lines of code various parts of my projects contain. It’s useful to see things like how much code comment is in a project as opposed to actual code (to me, the more commented a project, the better</em>).</li>
  Dust</a> is a disk usage analyzer tool. I typically use DaisyDisk</a> because it gives more options to handle the files, and it provides a better and more interactive visualization; however, sometimes being able to see the disk usage in a terminal is useful too.</li>
  Bat</a> is a galactically better</strong> version of cat</code>.</li>
  Procs</a> is a process viewer tool. You can think of it as a modern replacement for ps</code>.</li>
  Eza</a> is a modern ls</code> replacement.</li>
  Mole</a> is a tool that keeps your Mac clean. It can purge unnecessary files, uninstall unwanted apps in a batch, analyze your Mac, and do various other optimizations. I strongly recommend</strong> it instead of using a bloated tool like CleanMyMac</em> or MacCleaner</em>.</li> </ul> Drive Health</h3> My NAS</a> can take care of its own health and notify me when there are failures or degradation. Yet that’s not true for my system disk and other external drives.</p> To monitor these drives, I have Drivedx</a> installed.</p> </p> Drive DX.</p> </div> I also use Backblaze</a> to back up my system disk and external drives to recover them in case of a hardware failure.</p> Network Monitoring</h3> Occasionally, I need to figure out what’s what in my local home network. Although that can be done with simple CLI commands, IP Scanner Ultra</a> gives a better and more intuitive overview of the network topology.</p> </p> IP Scanner Ultra.</p> </div> Security</h2> Security is non-negotiable, especially when you have sensitive data and credentials scattered across multiple systems.</p> I use Yubikey</a> as my hardware security key and primary authentication method whenever I can. So, one of the first things I install on my system is YubiKey Manager</a>.</p> Additionally, I have 1Password</a> to manage my passwords, licenses, secrets, and other sensitive information.</p> Sometimes, I need to transfer sensitive data over relatively insecure channels. For that, I use Encrypto</a> to encrypt them before sending over the wire.</p> Text Editing and Note-Taking</h2> When it comes to writing, I have a few specialized tools for different purposes:</p> Sublime Text</a> for quickly taking notes and writing some lightweight code.</li> Monodraw</a> for creating ASCII art diagrams.</li> Ulysses</a> because it’s far more than just a Markdown editor.</li> Tot</a> for synchronizing notes across devices. This is another app that you don’t know how badly you need until you start using it.</li> </ul> Other heavy-duty editors and IDEs exist exclusively in my Development Machine</strong> (see the next section</em>).</p> Software Development</h2> Now we get to the meat of my daily work: software development. I’ve made some deliberate choices here to keep my streaming machine stable.</p> I do almost all my software development by remotely connecting to my Windows Intel NUC via Windows App</a>.</p> I choose to use a separate machine for development because development environments can become complex and unstable in time, and I’d rather keep my streaming setup stable. Additionally, keeping “development</em>” focused on a separate machine allows me to focus: The machine is dedicated to development, and I don’t have anything else to distract me from it.</p> Along with Windows, I also have Parallels Desktop</a> for running dedicated local Linux virtual machines, when Windows Subsystem for Linux</em> doesn’t fit for the use case.</p> Windows Development Environment</h3> Windows is my main development machine. Here are some of the tools I use on Windows:</p> Windows Subsystem for Linux</a></li> Windows Terminal</a></li> Microsoft PowerToys</a></li> JetBrains Toolbox</a></li> GoLand</a></li> WebStorm</a></li> Ubuntu (WSL</em>)</a></li> Obsidian</a></li> Standard Notes</a></li> </ul> That’s pretty much it for Windows too. I want to keep my development setup lean and stable as well.</p> I also have Slack</a> and Discord</a> installed on Windows because I want to keep my Mac streaming setup stable, so I don’t want to introduce anything unnecessary to the system if I don’t have to.</p> Conclusion</h2> Setting up a new system is always a good opportunity to reflect on what you truly need versus what you’ve accumulated over time. By starting fresh, I was able to be more intentional about every tool I installed.</p> The key takeaways from this setup are:</p> Separation of concerns</strong>: Keeping my streaming machine stable by offloading development work to a dedicated Windows machine has been a game-changer.</li> Automation first</strong>: Tools like Hazel</em>, HyperBackup</em>, and Stream Deck</em> reduce manual work and let me focus on what matters.</li> Quality over quantity</strong>: Investing in good hardware (SM7B, Babyface Pro FS, MX Master 4</em>) pays dividends in comfort and productivity.</li> </ul> This list will inevitably evolve as my needs change, but for now, this is the foundation that keeps me productive and sane. If you’re setting up a new system, I hope this gives you some ideas to consider.</p>

Zero to Hero - system-setup

A Fresh Start: My New Streaming and Development Setup

Core System Essentials</h2>

Hardware and Peripherals</h2> Switching gears from software to hardware, let’s look at the physical tools that make daily work more comfortable and efficient.</p>

Security</h2> Security is non-negotiable, especially when you have sensitive data and credentials scattered across multiple systems.</p>

Hardware and Peripherals</h2>
Switching gears from software to hardware, let’s look at the physical tools that make daily work more comfortable and efficient.</p>