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:
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
## 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
## Setting Up Python Development Environment
### Step 1: Install Python
**macOS:**
\`\`\`bash
brew install [email protected]
\`\`\`
**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 from requirements.txt
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Or install packages individually
pip install flask sqlalchemy python-dotenv
\`\`\`
### Step 5: Set Up Environment Variables
Create \`.env\` file:
\`\`\`
FLASK_APP=app.py
FLASK_ENV=development
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///app.db
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
\`\`\`
### Step 6: Run the Application
\`\`\`bash
# Run Flask app
flask run
# Should see: Running on http://127.0.0.1:5000
\`\`\`
Example 3: Docker Development Environment
## Setting Up Docker Development Environment
### Step 1: Install Docker
**macOS:**
\`\`\`bash
brew install --cask docker
# Or download Docker Desktop from docker.com
\`\`\`
**Linux:**
\`\`\`bash
# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
# Add user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker
\`\`\`
**Windows:**
Download Docker Desktop from docker.com
### Step 2: Verify Installation
\`\`\`bash
docker --version # Should show Docker version 24.x.x
docker-compose --version # Should show Docker Compose version 2.x.x
\`\`\`
### Step 3: Create docker-compose.yml
\`\`\`yaml
version: '3.8'
services:
app:
build: .
ports:
- "3000:3000"
environment:
- NODE_ENV=development
- DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/mydb
volumes:
- .:/app
- /app/node_modules
depends_on:
- db
db:
image: postgres:15
environment:
- POSTGRES_USER=postgres
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
- POSTGRES_DB=mydb
ports:
- "5432:5432"
volumes:
- postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
volumes:
postgres_data:
\`\`\`
### Step 4: Start Services
\`\`\`bash
# Build and start containers
docker-compose up -d
# View logs
docker-compose logs -f
# Stop services
docker-compose down
\`\`\`
### Step 5: Verify Services
\`\`\`bash
# Check running containers
docker ps
# Test database connection
docker-compose exec db psql -U postgres -d mydb
\`\`\`
Best Practices
✅ Do This
- Document Everything - Write clear setup instructions
- Use Version Managers - nvm for Node, pyenv for Python
- Create .env.example - Show required environment variables
- Test on Clean System - Verify instructions work from scratch
- Include Troubleshooting - Document common issues and solutions
- Use Docker - For consistent environments across machines
- Pin Versions - Specify exact versions in package files
- Automate Setup - Create setup scripts when possible
- Check Prerequisites - List required tools before starting
- Provide Verification Steps
