Environment Setup Guide
Overview
Help developers set up complete development environments from scratch. This skill provides step-by-step guidance for installing tools, configuring dependencies, setting up environment variables, and verifying the setup works correctly.
When to Use This Skill
- •Use when starting a new project and need to set up the development environment
- •Use when onboarding new team members to a project
- •Use when switching to a new machine or operating system
- •Use when troubleshooting environment-related issues
- •Use when documenting setup instructions for a project
- •Use when creating development environment documentation
How It Works
Step 1: Identify Requirements
I'll help you determine what needs to be installed:
- •Programming language and version (Node.js, Python, Go, etc.)
- •Package managers (npm, pip, cargo, etc.)
- •Database systems (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, etc.)
- •Development tools (Git, Docker, IDE extensions, etc.)
- •Environment variables and configuration files
Step 2: Check Current Setup
Before installing anything, I'll help you check what's already installed:
bash
# Check versions of installed tools node --version python --version git --version docker --version
Step 3: Provide Installation Instructions
I'll give platform-specific installation commands:
- •macOS: Using Homebrew
- •Linux: Using apt, yum, or package manager
- •Windows: Using Chocolatey, Scoop, or direct installers
Step 4: Configure the Environment
Help set up:
- •Environment variables (.env files)
- •Configuration files (.gitconfig, .npmrc, etc.)
- •IDE settings (VS Code, IntelliJ, etc.)
- •Shell configuration (.bashrc, .zshrc, etc.)
Step 5: Verify Installation
Provide verification steps to ensure everything works:
- •Run version checks
- •Test basic commands
- •Verify database connections
- •Check environment variables are loaded
Examples
Example 1: Node.js Project Setup
markdown
## Setting Up Node.js Development Environment
### Prerequisites
- macOS, Linux, or Windows
- Terminal/Command Prompt access
- Internet connection
### Step 1: Install Node.js
**macOS (using Homebrew):**
\`\`\`bash
# Install Homebrew if not installed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
# Install Node.js
brew install node
\`\`\`
**Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):**
\`\`\`bash
# Update package list
sudo apt update
# Install Node.js and npm
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
\`\`\`
**Windows (using Chocolatey):**
\`\`\`powershell
# Install Chocolatey if not installed
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))
# Install Node.js
choco install nodejs
\`\`\`
### Step 2: Verify Installation
\`\`\`bash
node --version # Should show v20.x.x or higher
npm --version # Should show 10.x.x or higher
\`\`\`
### Step 3: Install Project Dependencies
\`\`\`bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-repo/project.git
cd project
# Install dependencies
npm install
\`\`\`
### Step 4: Set Up Environment Variables
Create a \`.env\` file:
\`\`\`bash
# Copy example environment file
cp .env.example .env
# Edit with your values
nano .env
\`\`\`
Example \`.env\` content:
\`\`\`
NODE_ENV=development
PORT=3000
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb
API_KEY=your-api-key-here
\`\`\`
### Step 5: Run the Project
\`\`\`bash
# Start development server
npm run dev
# Should see: Server running on http://localhost:3000
\`\`\`
### Troubleshooting
**Problem:** "node: command not found"
**Solution:** Restart your terminal or run \`source ~/.bashrc\` (Linux) or \`source ~/.zshrc\` (macOS)
**Problem:** "Permission denied" errors
**Solution:** Don't use sudo with npm. Fix permissions:
\`\`\`bash
mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
\`\`\`
Example 2: Python Project Setup
markdown
## Setting Up Python Development Environment ### Step 1: Install Python **macOS:** \`\`\`bash brew install python@3.11 \`\`\` **Linux:** \`\`\`bash sudo apt update sudo apt install python3.11 python3.11-venv python3-pip \`\`\` **Windows:** \`\`\`powershell choco install python --version=3.11 \`\`\` ### Step 2: Verify Installation \`\`\`bash python3 --version # Should show Python 3.11.x pip3 --version # Should show pip 23.x.x \`\`\` ### Step 3: Create Virtual Environment \`\`\`bash # Navigate to project directory cd my-project # Create virtual environment python3 -m venv venv # Activate virtual environment # macOS/Linux: source venv/bin/activate # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate \`\`\` ### Step 4: Install Dependencies \`\`\`bash # Install fro