What's the minimum requirement for /sethome command in single player on OS X

I have Minecraft 1.4.5 installed on OS X. I can connect to other servers, and I can play Single-player, but I cannot run many commands in Single-player mode.

I would like to run the commands /sethome and /home. What is the installation I need to accomplish that?

On bukkit.org, I see instructions to set up Craftbukkit.

On minecraftwiki.net, I see how to set up a server and instructions for installing mods.

On khhq.net, I see instructions for setting up Essentials, which mentions MC "server".

I think Essentials will give me the /sethome command. In order to have Essentials, I think I need Craftbukkit as a prerequisite. Do I need to set up a Minecraft "server" in order to install Craftbukkit?

To use the /sethome, /home command, which is a part of Essentials, you need to install CraftBukkit. First you have to install Craftbukkit, then Essentials into the Plugins folder. You will not need the vanilla server files, just the Craftbukkit ones. Note that for the plugin folder to appear, you need to first load the server, then put the plugin in and type reload in console or /reload in-game.

It should also be noted that if you want to use WorldEdit and commands similar to Essentials for single-player, you may want to check out Single Player Commands. It comes with WorldEdit installed, which is fun for making stuff, as well as the /sethome and /home commands.

There's not a lot I can add that goes beyond the links you've already mentioned.

You want a CraftBukkit server, with Essentials installed.

Install CraftBukkit then Install Essentials. If you're having particular problems with steps in these instructions, please update your question so that I can give more detailed help.

You do not need the vanilla minecraft server files.