New Development Environment Setup

20 items · Technical · Medium difficulty · 2 hours

Prepare a secure, productive development environment step by step.

• Install OS updates and security patches

  Run system update tools and reboot if required to apply patches.

• Set up a package manager

  Use a platform package manager to simplify installing tools.

• Install Homebrew (macOS)

  Run the Homebrew install script: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

• Install Chocolatey (Windows)

  Install via PowerShell with admin rights: Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

• Ensure apt/yum repos and build tools (Linux)

  Update package lists and install build-essential, git, curl or distro equivalents.

• Install version managers for runtimes

  Use tools like nvm, pyenv, rbenv to manage language versions per project.

• Install nvm (Node version manager)

  Follow nvm install script and add source lines to your shell profile.

• Install pyenv (Python version manager)

  Install pyenv and required build deps, then add initialization to your shell.

• Install core development tools (Git, curl, build tools)

  Install Git, curl, compilers and other essentials via your package manager.

• Configure Git global settings (name, email, default branch)

  Set git config --global user.name, user.email, init.defaultBranch and core.editor.

• Generate SSH key and add it to the SSH agent

  Use ssh-keygen -t ed25519 (or rsa) and ssh-add to load the key into your agent.

• Add your SSH public key to your Git provider account

  Copy ~/.ssh/id_*pub and paste into GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket SSH keys settings.

• Install Docker and run a test container

  Install Docker Desktop or engine and run docker run hello-world to verify.

• Install your preferred IDE/editor and essential extensions

  Install VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, or others and add extensions for linting and formatting.

• Clone or create dotfiles and symlink config files

  Keep dotfiles in a repo and symlink .gitconfig, .bashrc/.zshrc, and editor settings.

• Configure shell environment and install Oh My Zsh (optional)

  Set PATH, aliases, and source your profile; install Oh My Zsh for zsh users.

• Install language runtimes and set project default versions

  Use nvm/pyenv to install specific Node/Python versions required by projects.

• Install global developer tools and linters (prettier, eslint, black)

  Install CLI tools globally or per-project; verify their versions and configs.

• Set up local databases and services using Docker Compose

  Bring up Postgres, Redis, or other services with docker-compose for local dev.

• Create README with environment setup notes and start scripts

  Document required env vars, commands, and how to start services for new devs.

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