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Dec 20248 min read

My Developer Environment Setup (macOS)

A comprehensive guide to setting up the perfect development environment on macOS, covering essential tools, configurations, and productivity tips that every developer should know.

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My Developer Environment Setup (macOS)



Setting up a productive development environment is crucial for any developer. In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through my complete macOS setup that has helped me stay productive and efficient.



Essential Tools



1. Terminal Setup



  • iTerm2: A superior terminal replacement

  • Oh My Zsh: Framework for managing your Zsh configuration

  • Powerlevel10k: A fast and customizable theme



# Example of installing Oh My Zsh
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"



Pro Tip: Choose an editor you're comfortable with and learn it deeply. Productivity comes from mastery.


2. Code Editor



  • Visual Studio Code: My primary editor

  • Essential Extensions:

    • Auto Rename Tag

    • Bracket Pair Colorizer

    • GitLens

    • Prettier

    • ES7+ React/Redux/React-Native snippets





3. Development Tools



  • Homebrew: Package manager for macOS

  • Node.js & npm: JavaScript runtime and package manager

  • Git: Version control

  • Docker: Containerization platform



Configuration Files



I maintain all my configuration files in a GitHub repository for easy setup on new machines.



Productivity Tips




  1. Use keyboard shortcuts extensively

  2. Set up custom aliases for common commands

  3. Organize your projects with a consistent folder structure

  4. Use a password manager like 1Password



This setup has served me well for years and continues to evolve as new tools emerge.