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Setting Up a MacBook for Coding in 2026 (MacBook Air M4)

Utkarsh Tiwari
4 min read
macbookcodingdevelopmentmacsetup

Table of Contents

I bought a MacBook Air M4 in January 2026 mainly for productivity and coding. I already have a Windows laptop, so this Mac isn’t a replacement—it’s a focused work machine.

I don’t install Xcode. I don’t overload the system. I want a clean, fast, distraction-free dev setup.

This is exactly how I set everything up from scratch.

1. Initial macOS Setup

Go through the standard macOS welcome flow:

  • Language and region
  • Apple ID
  • Touch ID

Skip anything you don’t immediately need (Apple Pay, Siri, Screen Time). Once you land on the desktop, let Spotlight finish indexing before installing tools.

welcome-image

Apple macOS overview: https://www.apple.com/macos/

2. Finder Setup, Developer Folder & Dock Cleanup

First, make Finder actually useful.

Enable Path & File Extensions

  • Finder → Settings → Advanced
  • Enable Show all filename extensions
  • Finder → View → Show Path Bar

Create a Developer Folder

Inside your home directory, create:

Developer

Pin it to the Finder sidebar so every project lives in one predictable place.

sidebar-finder

Clean the Dock

Drag unnecessary apps out of the Dock and drop them into empty space. I keep only what I open daily.

dock

3. Terminal Setup (Zsh + Powerlevel10k)

Terminal is where most real work happens.

Basic Preferences

Terminal → Settings:

  • Font: MesloLGS NF
  • Font size: 13–14
  • Disable audible bell
  • Enable “Use Option as Meta key”

Oh My Zsh

https://ohmyz.sh/

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Restart Terminal after installation.

Powerlevel10k Theme

https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git \
${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k

Edit config:

nano ~/.zshrc
ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k"

Restart Terminal and complete the setup wizard.

Reconfigure anytime:

p10k configure

terminal-after-setup

4. Homebrew (Package Manager for macOS)

Homebrew is the backbone of this setup.

Official site: https://brew.sh/

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Add Homebrew to PATH (Apple Silicon):

echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

Verify:

brew --version

📌 Finding Brew Recipes

Whenever you’re unsure how to install something, always search here first:

https://formulae.brew.sh/

This is the authoritative list of:

  • Formulas (brew install)
  • Casks (brew install --cask)

If it’s not there, think twice before installing it.

5. Code Editors

Visual Studio Code

https://code.visualstudio.com/

brew install --cask visual-studio-code

Sign in with your Microsoft account to restore:

  • Extensions
  • Themes
  • Settings

code

Agentic Editors (Optional)

Examples:

Installation is simple:

  • Download .dmg
  • Right-click → Open
  • Drag to Applications

6. Core Development Stack

Git

https://git-scm.com/

brew install git
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your@email.com"

GitHub authentication is handled directly inside VS Code.

Node.js

https://nodejs.org/

brew install node

Java (Temurin / OpenJDK)

https://adoptium.net/

brew install --cask temurin

Python (Homebrew-managed)

https://www.python.org/

brew install python

Avoid using the macOS system Python.

7. MongoDB

Official MongoDB site: https://www.mongodb.com/

brew tap mongodb/brew
brew install mongodb-community

Start service:

brew services start mongodb-community

mongo

8. PostgreSQL

https://www.postgresql.org/

brew install postgresql@16
brew services start postgresql@16

Create default DB:

createdb

9. Postman

https://www.postman.com/

brew install --cask postman

Login to sync collections and environments.

postman

10. Ollama & Local LLMs

Ollama official site: https://ollama.com/

brew install ollama

Start Ollama:

ollama serve

Download models:

ollama pull llama3.1
ollama pull mistral
ollama pull codellama

Run:

ollama run llama3.1

ollama

11. Docker

For local development, testing, and running dependent services, Docker is still hard to beat.

Official site: https://www.docker.com/

Install Docker Desktop

On macOS, Docker Desktop is the simplest and most stable option.

brew install --cask docker

After installation:

  1. Open Docker from Applications
  2. Allow required permissions
  3. Wait for the Docker engine to start

Verify installation:

docker --version
docker compose version

Once Docker is running, you’re ready to:

  • Spin up databases (Postgres, MongoDB, Redis)
  • Run isolated dev environments
  • Match production-like setups locally

docker

How I Use macOS + Windows Together

  • MacBook Air → coding, writing, research, AI tools
  • Windows laptop → gaming, heavy builds, large storage
  • Git + cloud keep everything in sync
  • No duplicated data, no wasted space

Closing Thoughts

The MacBook Air M4 is silent, fast, and extremely efficient for development. If you keep macOS clean and install tools intentionally, it becomes one of the best dev environments in 2026.

No bloat. No noise. Just tools that work.

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