App Academy Dotfiles
This is the one repo you need to set up your Macbook for App Academy. It combines configuration files and installation scripts to automate the setup process and make your life easier. (If you do not have a Macbook, see the note on other operating systems.)
We've selected some simple configuration settings that will get you set up and ready to develop. You can tweak these as you learn more and develop your own configuration preferences.
If for whatever reason you prefer to do your configuration manually, just read through the requirements and dotfiles, making the corresponding changes on your machine.
If you run into trouble, don't worry. Our instructors will be around on the first day to help you with any issues you may have.
Preparing your machine for Dotfiles.
You'll need to follow a few steps before you can use the install scripts in this repo. Some of these require you to use a terminal. Copy the given code and paste it in to run these steps.
Install the Xcode Command Line tools.
- Make sure that Xcode is installed and updated in the App Store.
- Install the tools
xcode-select --install
Install Postgres App.
This is the PostgreSQL server we'll be using. Download it here.
Once it's been installed, open it up. You'll need to click through the dialog warning you about the dangers of internet downloads.
Install Atom Text Editor (optional).
This is the text editor we use at App Academy. The dotfiles installer will install our suite of packages and configuration for Atom, but only if you've already installed it.
You can download it here.
Open it up and click through the dialog like you did with Postgres.
Using the Dotfiles repo.
The following scripts will work if your operating system is based on
Darwin (the Mac OS) or Debian (Ubuntu is Debian). If you are running a
different UNIX flavor, you may have to follow the manual install
instructions and set up your .bashrc yourself.
Download Dotfiles.
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/appacademy/dotfiles.git .dotfiles
Install the requirements.
This will install all the requirements, including Ruby and Node, various Gems and Node packages, and some Atom packages. If you are having trouble with the script below, follow these instructions to manually get things set up.
~/.dotfiles/bin/install_requirements
Install the configuration files.
This will copy over all the configuration files, including those for Bash and JavaScript linting.
Warning: If you have existing configuration files, this will overwrite them. When you run this script, it will probably prompt you about this. When it does, be sure to look over the files in question. If you want to save them, copy them into a separate file or folder and then run the script again.
~/.dotfiles/bin/install_dotfiles
That's it!
You're done! No more installation required.
Troubleshooting
If you've installed the dotfiles and you're still having some issues with your environment, check out our troubleshooting docs.
Other Operating Systems
This repository is created for machines running Mac OSX. Note that we do not technically support other operating systems, but many students have succeeded in the course using Linux.
Linux
If you have a Linux machine, setup will be largely the same but slightly more involved. Take a look at Linux Development Setup for instructions.
Windows
You can install Ruby, MySQL, Node, and all our other dependencies in Windows, but be forewarned: this can be a massive headache. The packages and installation instructions may be very different, and if you run into any problems, you're totally on your own. Our instructors are trained on Macs and the Windows architecture is just too different for us to be able to help you debug issues.
Instead, we suggest installing Ubuntu Linux for use on your personal machine. Linux can be installed over Windows (overwriting your Windows install) or alongside in a dual-boot setup. You can find a full tutorial for both install and development setup here.
Warning: This setup can take some time and can potentially corrupt your Windows installation. Make sure to read all instructions before proceeding.
None
If you do not have your own machine, no problem. We have enough here that you can use one of our Mac Minis during the course and the job search. Note that these stay in the office, so you won't be able to do any of your coding homework from home.