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Getting Started

Before we get started, we need to setup a few things. First, we need to create a Github Repository to store our code.

Setting up a Github repository

[TODO: Add a video here].

  1. If you do not have a Github account, you will need to create one here.

  2. You will need to install the Github CLI on your local machine.

  • For MacOS users, you can download it following the instructions here.
  • For Windows users, you can download it following the instructions here.
  1. Once you have a Gitub account and have downloaded the Github CLI, you’ll need to create a new repository. Instructions are here. The main steps are:
  • Go to your online Github account and click on the + button in the top right corner of the page and select New repository.
  • Choose a name for the repository, e.g. ml-apps.
  • Initialize the repository with a README file.
  • Click on the Create repository button.
  • Commit your first change!
  • Clone the repository to your local machine (so you can start coding on your computer).
git clone [insert https url here]

For example:

git clone https://github.com/karenacai/ml-apps.git

This will setup a folder on your computer called project-name that contains the repository you just created.

Setting up your Cursor IDE

If you end up choosing Cursor as your IDE, you will need to do the following setup:

  1. Install the Cursor IDE. Before subscribing for the paid version, you can try out the free version. Once you’ve used up all your free credits, you can use this link to get one free month (instead of the usual 2 weeks).

  2. Once you have installed Cursor, you can open up the project-name folder in Cursor.

Installing Node

In the course, we will be setting up Minimal Viable Product applications using the NextJS framework. Node.js is a runtime environment that lets you run JavaScript outside of a web browser. Node.js is necessary because it provides the environment and tools to run, build, and deploy Next.js applications. Thus, we need to install Node js on our computers.

Follow the instructions here. For the easier way, I would recommend jumping to the bottom of the page and download the package. And then the installer will walk you through the installation steps.

On Apple iOS

For Apple iOS, just switch the selection filters at the bottom of the page to whatever matches your computer, i.e. ‘MacOS’. We recommend asking ChatGPT how to figure out your computer’s architecture if needed.

On Windows

For Apple iOS, just switch the selection filters at the bottom of the page to whatever matches your computer, i.e. ‘Windows’. We recommend asking ChatGPT how to figure out your computer’s architecture if needed.

You should be able to verify that you have successfully installed these by running these commands in your Terminal (Command Prompt for Windows).

Terminal window
node -v
npm -v

The output should be a version number if the program is properly installed.