Setup guide

Step-by-step instructions for setting up your development environment

Welcome to IS 4010! This guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up your computer with all the necessary tools for this course.

1. Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

We use VS Code as our primary IDE.

  • Download: code.visualstudio.com
  • Install: Run the installer for your OS.
    • Windows: Check “Add to PATH”.
    • macOS: Open VS Code, press Cmd+Shift+P, type “Shell Command”, and select Install ‘code’ command in PATH.

2. Git & GitHub

  • Git: Download and install.
    • Windows Users: We strongly recommend installing Git Bash (via the Git for Windows installer) and using it as your default terminal profile in Windows Terminal.
  • GitHub:
    1. Create an account at github.com.
    2. Sign up for the Student Developer Pack (free Copilot!).
    3. Configure Git: bash git config --global user.name "Your Name" git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

3. Python setup

  • Install: Python 3.10+ from python.org.
    • Windows: Check “Add python.exe to PATH” during installation.
  • Verify: python --version (or python3 --version).

4. Rust setup

  • Install: Run the following command (macOS/Linux/WSL): bash curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
  • Verify: cargo --version.

5. Gemini CLI

  • Prerequisite: Node.js v20+.
  • Install: npm install -g @google/gemini-cli.
  • Authenticate: Run gemini and log in with your Google account.

6. GitHub Copilot

  • Install the GitHub Copilot extension in VS Code.
  • Sign in with your GitHub account (ensure you have the Student Developer Pack activated).