Setting up a professional macOS dev environment in 2026

Who this is for You want a clean, repeatable dev setup on macOS. You want fast installs, predictable updates, and a workflow for shipping real projects. By the end, you will have a working pipeline from your laptop to a live URL. What you will set up iTerm2 for a better terminal Oh My Zsh for shell productivity Homebrew for tool management Git (latest, via Homebrew) for version control SSH keys for secure GitHub access nvm for Node.js version management VS Code with 9 extensions and a tuned settings file A deploy pipeline from GitHub to Vercel, with preview URLs on every PR Before you start Update macOS and restart. Open Terminal once to clear first-run prompts. 1. iTerm2 iTerm2 replaces the default Terminal with split panes, search, profiles, and deep customisation. You spend hours in a terminal each week. A better terminal pays off fast. Install with Homebrew (section 3 below): brew install --cask iterm2 Set iTerm2 as your default terminal app. 2. Oh My Zsh macOS ships with Zsh. Oh M