How a Senior Developer Sets Up a New MacBook Pro (Step-by-Step)

I just unboxed a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 Max, and this is every single thing I install on it, in order, on camera. Not a random app list: this is the setup I use daily for React Native development and content creation, with the reasoning behind each pick (including why 14-inch over 16, and why the Nano texture display).

Steal what fits your workflow, skip what doesn't.

What's inside

• Why I picked the M4 Max, 2TB storage, and Nano texture display
• Spotlight tricks, like hitting Enter twice to unlock shortcuts
• Daily drivers: Linear, Slack, Discord, Notion, Magnet, Screen Studio
• Dev essentials: Homebrew, Xcode, Android Studio, Docker, Raycast
• TablePlus for databases and Figma for design work
• iTerm and Git config stored in a GitHub repo for instant setup on any Mac

Resources

CourseReact Native course

Machine ready? Put it to work: 17 sections and 800+ minutes, from fundamentals to shipping.