Set up your workstation
A terminal, Git, Node, Python and an AI coding agent, set up once so you can build anything after.
Install a code editor and an AI coding agent, then make one tiny project folder and run something in it.
Your learning checklist
0 of 6 steps marked · opening your workspace
Get a proper terminal
Every other tool in this list is installed and run from a terminal, so learn to open one and run commands before anything else. On Windows, WSL gives you a Linux shell, which most tutorials assume.
docsInstall WSL (Microsoft Learn)
One command (wsl --install) gives a Windows machine a real Linux shell; most server and AI-agent tutorials assume Linux commands.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsWindows Terminal installation and setup
A better window for PowerShell, WSL and other shells, with tabs and panes so you can run a dev server and an agent side by side.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
courseThe Missing Semester of Your CS Education (MIT)
Short lectures on the command line, shell scripting, editors, version control and debugging; the best single course on the tools builders actually use.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
Learn Git and put your first project on GitHub
Git is your undo button and your backup, and every deploy, automation and AI agent in the later goals expects your code to be in a repository.
docsGitHub Docs: Hello World
A 10-minute walk through making a repository, a branch, a commit and a pull request on GitHub.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsPro Git (the Git book)
The free, official reference book; read the first chapters on basics and branching and keep the rest for when you get stuck.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsGitHub Docs: Connecting to GitHub with SSH
Set up a key once so you can push code without typing passwords or pasting tokens into scripts.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsGitHub CLI manual (gh)
Create repos, open pull requests and check workflow runs from the terminal, which is also how AI agents drive GitHub.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
Install an editor
You need one place to read, search and edit files; VS Code is the common default and works with most AI coding tools.
docsVisual Studio Code documentation
Official docs for the editor, including its built-in terminal, Git view and extension marketplace.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsUse Claude Code in VS Code
How the Claude Code extension shows inline diffs and plans inside the editor, so you can review every change the agent makes.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
Install Node.js
Node runs most modern websites (Next.js), many automation scripts and many AI tool servers. Install the long-term-support version, not the newest experimental one.
siteNode.js downloads
The official installer page; pick the LTS release for anything you plan to keep running.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsIntroduction to Node.js
A short official explanation of what Node is and how to run your first script.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
reponvm (Node Version Manager)
Lets you switch Node versions per project on macOS, Linux and WSL when one project needs an older version.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
Install Python and use virtual environments
Python runs data scripts, scrapers-from-APIs, schedulers and many AI libraries. Keep each project in its own virtual environment so installs never collide.
docsPython tutorial: Virtual Environments and Packages
The official how-to for venv and pip; this is the habit that prevents most 'it worked yesterday' Python problems.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsuv documentation (Astral)
A fast, modern tool that installs Python versions, creates environments and runs scripts; replaces pip and venv for most new projects.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
Add an AI coding agent and learn to supervise it
Do this last: an agent is only as safe as the terminal, Git history and permissions underneath it. With Git in place you can always roll back what it changes.
docsClaude Code overview
Official install steps for the terminal, VS Code, desktop and web versions. Needs a Claude subscription or API account; the docs themselves are free.
- Cost / access
- paid
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsClaude Code quickstart
A guided first session: ask about a codebase, make a small change, commit it.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
docsBest practices for Claude Code
How to give the agent a CLAUDE.md, checks to run and rules it cannot break, which is the difference between useful and risky.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
courseClaude Code 101 (Claude Academy)
A 12-lesson self-paced course covering setup, daily workflows and customization.
- Cost / access
- free · Service usage, hosting, or model access may be separate.
- Setup
- Follow the linked provider’s current instructions; check account and runtime requirements.
You have made a start when…
- You can open a terminal and run a command without fear.
- Your project lives in Git and on GitHub.
- You can ask an AI agent to change a file and read the result.
Take this into your assistant.
Additional curriculum comes from the supplied AI Frontiers playbooks. Resource descriptions and cost labels are source guidance, not a fresh verification of pricing, compatibility, or results. Open the official instructions before using a tool. Checklist marks are your own progress notes.