Initial Setup (Windows)

Install the required tools on Windows and verify your development environment.

💻 Using a Mac? See Initial Setup (Mac).

Install Claude Code

In vibe coding, you build by giving instructions to Claude Code — the Claude that reads and writes the files on your machine and runs commands for you. Even the setup steps on this page are written to be handed to Claude Code rather than typed out by hand, so install it first.

The easiest way to get Claude Code is the Claude desktop app:

1. Download: Get the Windows app from claude.com/download
2. Install: Run the downloaded installer
3. Log in: Launch the app and log in with your Claude account (contact an admin if you don't have one — Claude Code requires a paid plan)
4. Open the Code tab: Claude Code is the Code tab at the top of the app. Open it and choose Local so Claude works with the files on your own machine. Select folder points it at a project — you will point it at this repository once you clone it further down this page.

The desktop app includes Claude Code, so there is nothing else to install for it. On Windows, local sessions need Git, which you install in step 2 below.

Prefer the terminal? Claude Code is also a command-line tool. Install it with winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode, then run claude inside your project folder. It is the same Claude Code and shares your settings and CLAUDE.md files with the app.

The "Ask Claude" prompts throughout this guide are written to be pasted into Claude Code.

Prerequisites Checklist

Before you start vibe coding, make sure you have these tools installed:

About terminals: We recommend Windows Terminal (PowerShell) or Git Bash for command-line work. After installing a tool, open a new terminal before running the verification commands.

Verify Your Installation

Already have some tools installed? Check which ones you need:

# winget
winget --version
# Git
git --version
# GitHub CLI
gh --version
# Node.js
node --version
# npm
npm --version
# pnpm
pnpm --version
# Git LFS
git lfs version

Expected Output

You should see version numbers for each tool:

v1.x.x
git version 2.x.x.windows.x
gh version 2.x.x
v22.x.x
10.x.x
9.x.x
git-lfs/3.x.x (GitHub; windows amd64; go 1.x.x)

If any tool shows "command not found" (or "is not recognized"), follow the installation guide below.

Installation Guide

The steps below use winget (Windows Package Manager), which makes installing each tool relatively easy.

1. Check winget (Windows Package Manager)

Recent versions of Windows 10/11 include winget by default. Run the following in PowerShell or Command Prompt to confirm it works:

winget --version

If it's not installed or not available, install "App Installer" from the Microsoft Store, or consider installing the tools manually.

2. Install Git

Git is the version control system:

winget install Git.Git

After installation, open a new terminal and verify:

git --version

If a version number is shown, you're all set.

Manual install: You can also download and run the installer from git-scm.com/download/win. The default installer settings are fine unless you have specific preferences.

3. Install GitHub CLI

The GitHub CLI (gh) is the official CLI tool for working with GitHub from the terminal. It allows Claude to create Pull Requests directly:

winget install GitHub.cli

# Verify in a new terminal
gh --version

First-time setup: After installing, link your GitHub account:

gh auth login

Follow the on-screen instructions to authenticate (a browser will open). Choose:

• GitHub.com
• HTTPS
• Authenticate with a web browser

4. Install Node.js and npm

Node.js is the JavaScript runtime and npm is its package manager. Installing Node.js also installs npm. For development, use the LTS (Long Term Support) version:

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

# Verify in a new terminal
node --version
npm --version

If both show version numbers, you're all set.

Manual install: You can also download and run the installer from nodejs.org/en/download.

5. Install pnpm

pnpm is our package manager of choice for the monorepo:

npm install -g pnpm

If PowerShell shows a "running scripts is disabled on this system" error, see Troubleshooting below.

6. Install Git LFS

Git LFS (Large File Storage) is required for handling large binary files in the repository:

winget install GitHub.GitLFS

# In a new terminal, initialize Git LFS for your user account
git lfs install

After running git lfs install, you should see:

Git LFS initialized.

Clone the Repository

Once all tools are installed, clone the repository:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/CoworkingKitchen/vibe-coding-platform-foundation.git

# Navigate to the directory
cd vibe-coding-platform-foundation

# Install all dependencies
pnpm install

Setup Quiz

Troubleshooting

"Running scripts is disabled on this system" error

If you see this error when running pnpm or other tools, open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Then open a new terminal and try again.

"winget" is not recognized

Install "App Installer" from the Microsoft Store. If that doesn't resolve it, run Windows Update to get the latest version.

A tool is installed but the command is not recognized

The PATH (command search path) is loaded when a terminal starts. Close all open terminals and open a new one, then try again.

Next Steps

Once your setup is complete, proceed to the Workflow to start your first contribution.