diff --git a/docs/reference/options.md b/docs/reference/options.md
index 4a7be4f32..0b671f5e8 100644
--- a/docs/reference/options.md
+++ b/docs/reference/options.md
@@ -602,6 +602,29 @@ string
 
 
 
+## apple.sdk
+
+
+
+The Apple SDK to add to the developer environment on macOS.
+
+If set to ` null `, the system SDK can be used if the shell allows access to external environment variables.
+
+
+
+*Type:*
+null or package
+
+
+
+*Default:*
+` if pkgs.stdenv.isDarwin then pkgs.apple-sdk else null `
+
+*Declared by:*
+ - [https://github.com/cachix/devenv/blob/main/src/modules/top-level.nix](https://github.com/cachix/devenv/blob/main/src/modules/top-level.nix)
+
+
+
 ## aws-vault.enable
 
 
@@ -2299,8 +2322,6 @@ list of (one of “commit-msg”, “post-checkout”, “post-commit”, “pos
 
 ## git-hooks.excludes
 
-
-
 Exclude files that were matched by these patterns.
 
 
@@ -2320,6 +2341,8 @@ list of string
 
 ## git-hooks.gitPackage
 
+
+
 The ` git ` package to use.
 
 
@@ -5136,8 +5159,6 @@ boolean
 
 ## git-hooks.hooks.autoflake.settings.binPath
 
-
-
 Path to autoflake binary.
 
 
@@ -5161,6 +5182,8 @@ null or string
 
 ## git-hooks.hooks.autoflake.settings.flags
 
+
+
 Flags passed to autoflake.
 
 
@@ -7009,8 +7032,6 @@ null or package
 
 ## git-hooks.hooks.clippy.packageOverrides.cargo
 
-
-
 The cargo package to use
 
 
@@ -7025,6 +7046,8 @@ package
 
 ## git-hooks.hooks.clippy.packageOverrides.clippy
 
+
+
 The clippy package to use
 
 
diff --git a/src/modules/top-level.nix b/src/modules/top-level.nix
index cc9a5732c..ecacfdeeb 100644
--- a/src/modules/top-level.nix
+++ b/src/modules/top-level.nix
@@ -71,6 +71,32 @@ in
       description = "The stdenv to use for the developer environment.";
       default = pkgs.stdenv;
       defaultText = lib.literalExpression "pkgs.stdenv";
+
+      # Remove the default apple-sdk on macOS.
+      # Allow users to specify an optional SDK in `apple.sdk`.
+      apply = stdenv:
+        if stdenv.isDarwin
+        then
+          stdenv.override
+            (prev: {
+              extraBuildInputs =
+                builtins.filter (x: !lib.hasPrefix "apple-sdk" x.pname) prev.extraBuildInputs;
+            })
+        else stdenv;
+
+    };
+
+    apple = {
+      sdk = lib.mkOption {
+        type = types.nullOr types.package;
+        description = ''
+          The Apple SDK to add to the developer environment on macOS.
+
+          If set to `null`, the system SDK can be used if the shell allows access to external environment variables.
+        '';
+        default = if pkgs.stdenv.isDarwin then pkgs.apple-sdk else null;
+        defaultText = lib.literalExpression "if pkgs.stdenv.isDarwin then pkgs.apple-sdk else null";
+      };
     };
 
     unsetEnvVars = lib.mkOption {
@@ -258,7 +284,8 @@ in
     packages = [
       # needed to make sure we can load libs
       pkgs.pkg-config
-    ];
+    ]
+    ++ lib.optional (config.apple.sdk != null) config.apple.sdk;
 
     enterShell = lib.mkBefore ''
       export PS1="\[\e[0;34m\](devenv)\[\e[0m\] ''${PS1-}"
@@ -297,17 +324,28 @@ in
       ln -snf ${lib.escapeShellArg config.devenv.runtime} ${lib.escapeShellArg config.devenv.dotfile}/run
     '';
 
-    shell = performAssertions (
-      (pkgs.mkShell.override { stdenv = config.stdenv; }) ({
-        hardeningDisable = config.hardeningDisable;
-        name = "devenv-shell";
-        packages = config.packages;
-        shellHook = ''
-          ${lib.optionalString config.devenv.debug "set -x"}
-          ${config.enterShell}
-        '';
-      } // config.env)
-    );
+    shell =
+      let
+        # `mkShell` merges `packages` into `nativeBuildInputs`.
+        # This distinction is generally not important for devShells, except when it comes to setup hooks and their run order.
+        # On macOS, the default apple-sdk is added to stdenv via `extraBuildInputs`.
+        # If we don't remove it from stdenv, then its setup hooks will clobber any SDK added to `packages`.
+        isAppleSDK = pkg: builtins.match ".*apple-sdk.*" (pkg.pname or "") != null;
+        partitionedPkgs = builtins.partition isAppleSDK config.packages;
+        buildInputs = partitionedPkgs.right;
+        nativeBuildInputs = partitionedPkgs.wrong;
+      in
+      performAssertions (
+        (pkgs.mkShell.override { stdenv = config.stdenv; }) ({
+          name = "devenv-shell";
+          hardeningDisable = config.hardeningDisable;
+          inherit buildInputs nativeBuildInputs;
+          shellHook = ''
+            ${lib.optionalString config.devenv.debug "set -x"}
+            ${config.enterShell}
+          '';
+        } // config.env)
+      );
 
     infoSections."env" = lib.mapAttrsToList (name: value: "${name}: ${toString value}") config.env;
     infoSections."packages" = builtins.map (package: package.name) (builtins.filter (package: !(builtins.elem package.name (builtins.attrNames config.scripts))) config.packages);
diff --git a/tests/macos-custom-apple-sdk/devenv.nix b/tests/macos-custom-apple-sdk/devenv.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..082ccced7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/macos-custom-apple-sdk/devenv.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{ pkgs, ... }:
+
+{
+  apple.sdk = pkgs.apple-sdk;
+
+  # Test that the above SDK is picked up by xcode-select.
+  enterTest = ''
+    if [ -v "$DEVELOPER_DIR" ]; then
+      echo "DEVELOPER_DIR is not set."
+      exit 1
+    fi
+
+    xcode-select -p | grep -q /nix/store
+  '';
+}
diff --git a/tests/macos-no-default-sdk/devenv.nix b/tests/macos-no-default-sdk/devenv.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ef8b797bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/macos-no-default-sdk/devenv.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{
+  apple.sdk = null;
+
+  # Test that there is no default SDK set on macOS.
+  enterTest = ''
+    variables_to_check=(
+      "DEVELOPER_DIR"
+      "DEVELOPER_DIR_FOR_BUILD"
+      "SDKROOT"
+      "NIX_APPLE_SDK_VERSION"
+    )
+
+    for var in "''${variables_to_check[@]}"; do
+      if [ -v "$var" ]; then
+        echo "$var is set. Expected no default Apple SDK." >&2
+        exit 1
+      fi
+    done
+  '';
+}