My Warp AI-Driven Development Setup
By Brad Holmes
Getting a new Mac should feel good. Instead, I was already thinking about the pain in the rear end of rebuilding my dev environment.
Years of having my enviroment forced on me by jobs and clients habits had piled up. GUI tools like MAMP and Local made life easier at the time, but they also hid what was going on underneath. They worked until they didn’t.
And when you’ve worked solo for years with only Dolly the dog to converse with it becomes a struggle, nobody taps you on the shoulder to say, “You know there’s a better way, right?” You just keep patching, moving, plugging the gaps and not really progressing.
So this time I started clean, and I used Warp AI to do it.
Using Warp for Setup, Not Code
Warp markets itself as an AI-powered terminal that helps you code faster and debug smarter. I use it to build and maintain my environment without really having to think.
I told it how I work: what I need, what I don’t, how I like things structured. Warp built around that. A few smart brew installs later, I had a setup that’s fast, clean, and native to macOS.
No MAMP. No Localwp No background junk.
Automating the Boring Stuff
Once the environment was solid, Warp suggested building bin scripts to handle repetitive installs.
One of them now spins up a full WordPress + Sage setup database, dependencies, theme, permissions with one command.
What used to be a chore now takes 1 minute. Warp explains every command, so I can tweak or expand it without guessing.
I know people may read this and be like oh you could of just done this or that 5 step process, Great that works for you but i now have 1 command that is tailored to me.
In the immortal words of Billy Joel “keep it to yourself its my life”
It’s not just faster; it’s consistent. I can rebuild the same working setup any time, exactly how I want it with one simple “run wp-setup” command in terminal if i was really smart i could take this further and get my usual suspect plugins install too.
Pro Tip: Don’t let Warp do everything for you. Read what it’s doing as it builds that’s how you turn automation into understanding. The goal isn’t to skip the command line, it’s to learn it faster without breaking stuff.
Everyone Has a “Right” Way
Ask ten developers about local environments and you’ll get ten different answers. Docker, Valet, manual installs take your pick.
They’re all fine.
Mine just happens to match how my brain connects the dots. I don’t want hidden layers or services I can’t see. I want something fast, transparent, and easy to fix when it breaks. Warp gave me that.
Warp doesn’t replace knowledge; I gave it the real me and it delivered the right thing and got out the way
The Bottom Line
Every dev has opinions about the “right” setup. That’s fine. For me, the best one is the one that stays invisible until I need it.
Warp helped me ditch the cruft, automate the pain in the rear end parts, and keep my focus where it belongs on the work.
It’s not the standard way. It’s not the textbook way. But it works.
How can I use Warp to build my own dev environment from scratch?
Start by describing how you work instead of memorising commands. Tell Warp what languages, frameworks, and tools you use, and it’ll suggest a setup plan using native macOS tools and Homebrew installs. You can preview every step before running it, so it’s a safe way to rebuild your stack without relying on Docker or GUI-based tools.
Can Warp really automate local WordPress or Laravel installs?
Yes. You can ask Warp to write bin scripts that install everything automatically dependencies, databases, permissions, and theme scaffolding. Once saved, you can rerun that same setup for any new project with one command. It’s basically turning your manual setup process into a reusable template.
Is Warp only for experienced developers?
No. Warp’s AI is built to explain commands in plain English. If you don’t understand something, you can ask why it’s there or what it does before running it. It’s one of the easiest ways to learn the terminal because you’re learning by doing, not reading cheat sheets.
How can Warp make my workflow faster without changing how I code?
Warp’s biggest strength isn’t just writing code it’s handling everything around it. Automating setup, cleaning environments, checking dependencies, and running repeatable tasks. You spend less time on the boring prep work and more time actually building. It fits into your existing workflow instead of trying to replace it.
Related Articles
Brad Holmes
Web developer, designer and digital strategist.
Brad Holmes is a full-stack developer and designer based in the UK with over 20 years’ experience building websites and web apps. He’s worked with agencies, product teams, and clients directly to deliver everything from brand sites to complex systems—always with a focus on UX that makes sense, architecture that scales, and content strategies that actually convert.