Hi all,
I'm tickled with my new local dev setup, and I thought I'd share in case anyone else wants to try it out or offer suggestions for improvements.
Prerequisites: I'm using a Mac running OS X Mountain Lion.
1. Install Homebrew
2. MAMP + dnsmasq (http://eddmann.com/posts/the-ultimate-mamp-setup-hands-down/ and http://www.echoditto.com/blog/never-touch-your-local-etchosts-file-os-x-again)*
* There is currently a typo in the first link's instructions. You need to use address=/.dev/127.0.0.1 in /usr/local/etc/dnsmasq.conf (note the dot in .dev for TLD).
I add Homebrew's PHP to /etc/apache2/httpd.conf like so:
LoadModule php5_module /usr/local/opt/php54/libexec/apache2/libphp5.so
Then issue a sudo apachectl restart.
The first time I hit a new site locally, I need to type the full http://mysite.dev to stop Safari, e.g., from searching Google rather than navigating to the URL. After that it remembers and all is well.
3. Install git vie homebrew and configure; create repos on BitBucket for remote storage. Use git submodules (planned) for ProcessWire and other components, like Bootstrap. I make a "live" branch that I can pull to the server when I'm ready, and other branches as needed.
I'm shuffling local tools at the moment, but using TextMate 2 as a primary editor and thinking of CodeKit for browser refresh and LESS/Sass compilation. Wish CSSEdit hadn't been killed as a stand alone product instead of being wrapped into Espresso.
On the browsers I'm using a mix of FireFox with Firebug and FireSass, Google Chrome with dev tools, and Safari.
I think that's it, so far!
EDIT: I did need to uncomment the RewriteBase / option in .htaccess