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Development Setup for Windows

Please read carefully and execute all commands in order.

👉 We will use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) so your environment behaves like macOS/Linux.

GitHub Account​

  1. Create an account: https://github.com/join
  2. Add your name + profile picture: https://github.com/settings/profile
  3. Enable 2FA

Install WSL (Linux on Windows)​

important note on WSL

Windows and WSL are two different environments.

  • Windows = your operating system
  • WSL = a Linux machine inside Windows

👉 From this point forward, we will do all development inside WSL

Open PowerShell (as Administrator) and run:

wsl --install

Restart your computer when prompted.

Launch WSL​

Open Ubuntu from the Start Menu.

You’ll be asked to:

  • create a username
  • create a password

👉 This is your Linux environment.

note

From now on:

👉 All commands run inside the WSL (Ubuntu) terminal

NOT in PowerShell or Command Prompt.

Update system packages​

Inside WSL:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install essential tools​

sudo apt install -y build-essential curl file git

Oh My Zsh​

Copy and paste the commands to WSL:

sudo apt install zsh -y

then,

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Press Y if prompted.

Visual Studio Code​

Install for Windows:

👉 https://code.visualstudio.com

Install WSL Extension​

Open VS Code → Extensions → install:

  • Remote - WSL

Open VS Code from WSL​

Inside WSL terminal:

code .

👉 This connects VS Code to Linux automatically

VS Code Extensions​

Run inside WSL terminal:

code --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode
code --install-extension ms-python.python
code --install-extension ms-python.vscode-pylance
code --install-extension ms-toolsai.jupyter
code --install-extension alexcvzz.vscode-sqlite

Disable AI Features (for now)​

Open VS Code:

  1. Ctrl + Shift + P
  2. Search: aifeatures
  3. Enable Disable and hide built-in AI features

GitHub CLI (gh) Setup (SSH)​

Copy and paste these command into WSL:

sudo apt install gh -y

1. Login with gh​

Login. DO NOT edit the email field:

gh auth login -s 'user:email' --git-protocol ssh -w

2. You’ll be asked a few questions:​

“What account do you want to log into?”​

  • Choose: GitHub.com

“What is your preferred protocol?”​

  • Use the arrow keys to choose: SSH

Why?

  • No passwords when pushing
  • More stable long-term workflow

“Generate a new SSH key?”​

  • Press Enter (Yes)

👉 If you already have a key:

  • Select your existing key instead

“Enter a passphrase”​

  • Optional, but recommended if you're security conscious
  • This protects your key if your machine is compromised
  • Press enter with the field blank to proceed without a passphrase

“Title for your SSH key”​

  • Default is fine (e.g. GitHub CLI), press enter

3. Browser authentication​

You’ll see:

! First copy your one-time code: XXXX-XXXX
  • Copy the code
  • Press Enter
  • Browser opens → paste code → approve access

👉 This creates a secure auth token stored locally (GitHub CLI)

4. Verify everything worked​

gh auth status

You should see:

✓ Logged in to github.com as <your-username>

Python (pyenv)​

Install dependencies:

sudo apt install -y make build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev \
libbz2-dev libreadline-dev libsqlite3-dev llvm libncurses5-dev \
libncursesw5-dev xz-utils tk-dev libffi-dev liblzma-dev

Install pyenv:

curl https://pyenv.run | bash

Add to shell:

echo 'export PYENV_ROOT="$HOME/.pyenv"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'command -v pyenv >/dev/null || export PATH="$PYENV_ROOT/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'eval "$(pyenv init -)"' >> ~/.bashrc
exec bash

Install Python:

pyenv install 3.12
pyenv global 3.12

Check:

python --version

Python Tools​

pip install --upgrade pip
pip install virtualenv pipx
pipx ensurepath

Node.js (nvm)​

Install nvm:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.1/install.sh | bash
exec bash

Install Node:

nvm install 20
nvm use 20

Check:

node -v
npm -v

SQLite​

sudo apt install sqlite3 -y
sqlite3 --version

PostgreSQL​

sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y

Start service:

sudo service postgresql start

Test:

psql -U postgres

Exit:

\q

Final Check​

python --version
node -v
npm -v
psql --version
sqlite3 --version
git --version

You’re Done!​

Your machine is now ready for:

👉 All running inside Linux (WSL)