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Getting Started
Setting Up Your Environment

Setting Up Your Environment

Before diving into development, you’ll need a properly configured environment. This guide walks you through the essential setup.

Prerequisites

  • A modern code editor (VS Code, Zed, or Neovim)
  • Git version control
  • Node.js 18+ or Go 1.21+
  • A terminal you’re comfortable with

Installing the Tools

1. Code Editor

We recommend Visual Studio Code for beginners due to its rich extension ecosystem:

# macOS (via Homebrew)
brew install --cask visual-studio-code

# Or download from https://code.visualstudio.com

2. Git

Git is essential for version control and collaboration:

# macOS
brew install git

# Verify installation
git --version

3. Node.js

For JavaScript/TypeScript projects, install Node.js via a version manager:

# Install nvm (Node Version Manager)
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

# Install the latest LTS version
nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts

Verifying Your Setup

Run these commands to confirm everything is ready:

git --version    # Should output git version 2.x+
node --version   # Should output v18.x+
npm --version    # Should output 9.x+
code --version   # Should output the VS Code version

Next Steps

With your environment ready, proceed to Project Structure to create your first project.

Project Structure