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Module
Module 3 of 5Lesson 1 of 3~20 min

Set up your workstation

The terminal often feels intimidating, but a few well-installed tools are all you need to get started. This lesson walks you through setting up and checking your work environment, then creating your project's versioned folder and launching a first session with the agent.

Take this lesson: your first course is freeSee the full syllabus

Lesson objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to install and check your environment (terminal, Node.js, Git, Claude Code), create your project's versioned folder and start a Claude Code session in it.

Topics covered

  • Claude Code
  • terminal
  • Node.js
  • Git
  • development environment

Where it fits

Set up your machine and generate the first version

How do I get a first version running on my machine, and understand what was created?

Lessons in this module

  1. Set up your workstation (this lesson)
  2. From framing to plan, then to code
  3. Understand what the agent built

What you will learn in the course

This lesson is part of the course Build and ship a web app with an AI coding agent

  • Frame a tool (problem, user, inputs, expected result) and write its acceptance criteria before generating a single line of code.
  • Choose between a chat with artifacts, an app builder and a coding agent based on the need, the level of control required and the risk.
  • Write a build request for a coding agent (context, scope, constraints, verification) and get a plan approved before any code is written.
  • Set up the environment (terminal, Node.js, Git, Claude Code), run the application locally and explain what the main files of the generated project are for.
  • Evolve and debug the application in small, checked, committed iterations, giving the agent the right context (symptom, steps, error message).
  • Review the generated app before sharing it (behavior, edge cases, secrets, personal data, experience) and decide whether to ship, fix or stop.
  • Publish the app from GitHub to a host with continuous deployment, get a public URL and evolve the live version without breaking it.

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