Development Environment Setup

ℹ️

One-Time Setup

Do this once, and you'll be ready to contribute to any project. Don't skip steps—improper setup causes embarrassing issues later.

Environment Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT STACK                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                             │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                         EDITOR / IDE                                 │   │
│  │                   VS Code, WebStorm, Vim, etc.                       │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                    │                                        │
│                                    ▼                                        │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                        VERSION CONTROL                               │   │
│  │                        Git + GitHub CLI                              │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                    │                                        │
│                                    ▼                                        │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                      LANGUAGE RUNTIMES                               │   │
│  │             Node.js, Python, Rust, Go, Java, etc.                    │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                    │                                        │
│                                    ▼                                        │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                      PACKAGE MANAGERS                                │   │
│  │               npm, pnpm, pip, cargo, etc.                            │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                    │                                        │
│                                    ▼                                        │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                      DEVELOPMENT TOOLS                               │   │
│  │           Docker, testing tools, linters, formatters                 │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 1: Install Git

Check if Git is installed

git --version

If you see a version number, skip to configuration.

Install Git (if needed)

macOS:

xcode-select --install
# or
brew install git

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install git

Windows: Download from git-scm.com (opens in a new tab) or use:

winget install Git.Git

Configure Git globally

# Set your identity (use your REAL name and GitHub email)
git config --global user.name "Your Full Name"
git config --global user.email "your-email@github.com"
 
# Set default branch to main
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
 
# Set useful defaults
git config --global pull.rebase false
git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true

Verify configuration

git config --list

⚠️

Use Your GitHub Email

The email in git config MUST match your GitHub account email, or your commits won't be linked to your profile.

Step 2: Set Up SSH Keys

SSH keys let you authenticate to GitHub without passwords.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   SSH AUTHENTICATION FLOW                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────┐           ┌─────────────┐                     │
│  │ Your Machine│           │   GitHub    │                     │
│  │             │           │             │                     │
│  │ Private Key │ ────────► │ Public Key  │                     │
│  │ (stays here)│  proves   │ (stored)    │                     │
│  │             │ identity  │             │                     │
│  └─────────────┘           └─────────────┘                     │
│                                                                 │
│  NEVER share your private key. NEVER.                           │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Generate SSH key

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your-email@github.com"

Press Enter to accept default location. Use a passphrase for extra security.

Start SSH agent

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Copy public key

# macOS
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | pbcopy
 
# Linux
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | xclip -selection clipboard
 
# Windows (Git Bash)
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | clip

Add to GitHub

Go to github.com/settings/keys (opens in a new tab)
Click "New SSH key"
Title: "My Laptop" (or descriptive name)
Paste the key
Click "Add SSH key"

Test connection

ssh -T git@github.com

You should see: "Hi username! You've successfully authenticated..."

Step 3: Install GitHub CLI

GitHub CLI (gh) makes many operations easier.

Install GitHub CLI

macOS:

brew install gh

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install gh

Windows:

winget install GitHub.cli

Authenticate

gh auth login

Follow the prompts. Choose SSH if you set up SSH keys.

Verify

gh auth status

Step 4: Code Editor Setup

VS Code (Recommended)

Install from code.visualstudio.com (opens in a new tab)
Install command line tool: Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P → "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH"
Sign in with GitHub (for settings sync)

Essential Extensions

Extension	Purpose
GitLens	Enhanced Git integration
GitHub Pull Requests	Review PRs in editor
EditorConfig	Respect project settings
ESLint / Prettier	Code formatting
Error Lens	Inline error display

Recommended Settings

{
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
  "git.autofetch": true,
  "git.confirmSync": false,
  "editor.rulers": [80, 120]
}

Step 5: Language Runtimes

Install based on your target projects:

Node.js Python Rust Go

Step 6: Docker (Optional but Common)

Many projects use Docker for development:

# macOS / Windows: Download Docker Desktop
# https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop
 
# Linux:
sudo apt install docker.io
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Verification Checklist

Run each command and verify output:

# Git
git --version
# ✓ Should show: git version 2.x.x
 
git config user.name
# ✓ Should show: Your Name
 
git config user.email
# ✓ Should show: your-email@github.com
 
# SSH
ssh -T git@github.com
# ✓ Should show: Hi username! ...
 
# GitHub CLI
gh auth status
# ✓ Should show: Logged in to github.com
 
# Editor
code --version
# ✓ Should show version number
 
# Node.js (if needed)
node --version
# ✓ Should show: v20.x.x or similar
 
# Docker (if installed)
docker --version
# ✓ Should show: Docker version x.x.x

Common Setup Issues

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    TROUBLESHOOTING                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  Problem: "Permission denied (publickey)"                       │
│  Solution: SSH key not added. Run:                              │
│    ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519                                    │
│                                                                 │
│  Problem: Commits show wrong author                             │
│  Solution: Set git config user.name and user.email              │
│                                                                 │
│  Problem: "git: command not found"                              │
│  Solution: Restart terminal, or add to PATH                     │
│                                                                 │
│  Problem: "remote: Permission to X denied to Y"                 │
│  Solution: Fork first, then push to YOUR fork                   │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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