Ultimate Dev Terminal Setup for Windows

Zsh + Oh My Zsh in Git Bash via Tabby Terminal, with Claude Code CLI and Cursor — no WSL required.

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Prerequisites

#	Tool	Purpose
1	Git for Windows	Git Bash baseline
2	Fira Code	Monospace font with ligatures
3	Tabby Terminal	Modern terminal emulator
4	Zsh Binaries (MSYS2)	Injected into Git Bash
5	Oh My Zsh + Plugins	Shell framework & enhancements
6	nvm-windows	Node version manager for Windows
7	Node.js (via nvm)	JavaScript runtime
8	VSCode	Code editor
9	Claude Code (via npm)	AI-powered CLI for Claude
10	Cursor	AI-powered code editor

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Installation

1. Git for Windows

1. Download and install from git-scm.com.
2. During setup, select "Use Git from the Windows Command Prompt".
3. Leave all other options at their defaults.
4. Verify: git --version

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2. Fira Code Font

1. Download the latest ZIP from FiraCode Releases.
2. Extract → open ttf/ → select all .ttf files → right-click → Install for all users.

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3. Tabby Terminal

1. Install from Tabby Releases.
2. Open Settings (Ctrl+,).
3. Copy config.yaml to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\tabby\.
4. Under Profiles & connections, verify Git Bash is detected.

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4. Inject Zsh into Git Bash

1. Go to MSYS2 Zsh Package.
2. Download the .pkg.tar.zst matching your architecture.
3. Extract with 7-Zip or PeaZip: .zst → .tar → folders.
4. Merge usr/ and etc/ into C:\Program Files\Git (approve admin permissions if prompted).
5. Verify: zsh --version

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5. Default Git Bash to Zsh

Add to the end of ~/.bashrc:

if [ -t 1 ]; then
  exec zsh
fi

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6. Install Oh My Zsh

If prompted on first launch, press 0 to create an empty profile.

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

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7. Install Oh My Zsh Plugins

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions \
  ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting \
  ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

git clone https://github.com/TamCore/autoupdate-oh-my-zsh-plugins \
  ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/autoupdate

Copy the .zshrc from this repo (includes plugins and all settings):

cp /path/to/dotfiles/.zshrc ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

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8. Install nvm-windows

1. Download nvm-setup.exe from nvm-windows Releases.
2. Run the installer and follow the prompts.
3. Restart your terminal.
4. Verify: nvm version

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9. Install Node.js via nvm

nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts

Verify:

node -v
npm -v

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10. Install VSCode

1. Download the installer from visualstudio.com.
2. Run the installer and launch VSCode.
3. On first launch, sign in and complete config sync.

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11. Install Claude Code

1. Install Claude Code globally

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

2. Verify: claude --version

3. Install Context7 MCP server (get your API key from console.upstash.com)

claude mcp add --scope user context7 -- npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp --api-key YOUR_API_KEY

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Install Cursor

1. Download the installer from cursor.com.
2. Run CursorSetup.exe and follow the prompts.
3. On first launch, sign in and complete the onboarding.
4. Verify: cursor --version

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Install Recommended Extensions

cursor --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
cursor --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode
cursor --install-extension dsznajder.es7-react-js-snippets
cursor --install-extension angular.ng-template
cursor --install-extension pkief.material-icon-theme
cursor --install-extension usernamehw.errorlens
cursor --install-extension ni3rav.andromeda-night