Overview

In Sprint 1, we learned how to set up the basic tools and equipment and implement basic functions of VSCode to run our repositories. Here’s a brief explanation of how I set up my computer to successfully run the tools necessary in CSSE:

NOTE: This setup is for WINDOWS computers only. If you are running your tools on a Mac or KASM server, the process may differ.

Step 1: Create Accounts

  1. Slack – Sign up at slack.com using a personal email. The CSSE workspace link can be found on the Open Coding Society pages.
  2. GitHub – Create an account at github.com. Choose a strong username and password (and be sure to remember these!)
  3. OpenCS – Register on the OpenCS platform so that you can be signed in/out of class.

Step 2: Install VS Code

Download and install Visual Studio Code from code.visualstudio.com.

Step 3: Fork the Repository

  1. Go to your GitHub account.
  2. Go to Open-Coding-Society student repository and click Fork to fork the student repo.
  3. This fork will serve as your personal workspace.

Step 4: Set Up WSL

  1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
  2. Run: 
    wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04
wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04
  3. Restart your system.
  4. Open WSL (Ubuntu by default).
  5. First-time Ubuntu setup: 
    mkdir opencs
cd opencs
git config --global credential.helper "/mnt/c/Program\ Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git-credential-manager.exe"
git clone https://github.com/Open-Coding-Society/student.git
cd student/
./scripts/activate_ubuntu.sh # prompts for your recently created WSL Ubuntu password
./scripts/activate.sh # prompts for Git UID and Personal Email
./scripts/venv.sh

Step 5: Clone Repo in WSL

Inside your WSL Ubuntu terminal:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/<your-forked-repo>.git
cd <your-forked-repo>

Step 6: Verification

In your WSL Ubuntu terminal:

git --version # check that your GitHub has been successfully installed
python --version
pip --version
ruby -v
bundle -v
gem --version
git config --global --list

Step 7: Open VSCode from WSL

In your WSL Ubuntu terminal, in your forked repository:

source venv/bin/activate
bundle install
code .

This will launch VS Code connected to your WSL environment. In the bottom left corner of VSCode you should see a blue rectangle that says ‘WSL:Ubuntu-24.04’

Step 8: Saving Changes

Before you commit changes, make sure your GitHub is running under your own account. In VSCode terminal:

git config --global user.name "<github username>"
git config --global user.email <github email>

Many projects include a Makefile. To build or run tasks:

make

✅ Congratulations! You should now have Slack, GitHub, OpenCS, VS Code, and WSL all set up. You’ve forked and cloned your project, and successfully saved changes inside WSL. 🚀