Software Setup

Adapted from Macondo's docs.

Before you start building software, get your environment set up: a GitHub account and GitHub Desktop for version control, VS Code as your editor, and Hackatime wired up to track your coding hours.

You must use Hackatime for every software project — without it, software projects can't be submitted for review. See Hackatime for setup details.

GitHub Desktop & Git

1. Create a GitHub account at github.com.
2. Download GitHub Desktop.
3. Create a new repository with a README file.
4. Get familiar with the GitHub Desktop interface — you'll be living in it alongside your editor.

VS Code

1. Download VS Code.
2. Open your repository in VS Code directly from GitHub Desktop.
3. Install extensions relevant to what you're building — e.g. Live Server for websites, the Python extension for Python projects.
4. Install the WakaTime extension so your coding time flows into Hackatime.

The workflow

Once you're set up, the day-to-day loop looks like this:

1. Write code in VS Code.
2. Switch to GitHub Desktop to review what changed.
3. Write a commit message describing what you did.
4. Click Commit to main to save a snapshot.
5. Push to GitHub to back your work up online.

Commit early, commit often. Frequent commits are proof of incremental work, and they protect you from losing progress.

A note on AI

AI assistance is allowed, but your submission needs to show real understanding — obvious polish and iteration, not a pile of unreviewed generated code. Journals must always be written by a human, never AI-generated.