Install VS Code
Every builder needs a workspace. VS Code is yours — a free, fast code editor used by more developers than any other. You'll write code, run commands, and talk to AI all from this one tool. It's the safe bet — you won't regret having it installed.
Already use Cursor, Windsurf, or Antigravity? That's fine — they're all VS Code-based, so everything here works the same.
Go to code.visualstudio.com, download the installer for your OS, and follow the steps to install it.
Launch it once to make sure it opens — you'll see a welcome screen.
Your built-in terminal
VS Code has a built-in terminal — a place where you type commands instead of clicking buttons. You'll use it for every setup step from here on.
Click the Toggle Panel button in the top-right corner of VS Code to open it.
You might have heard of Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows) — this is the same thing, built right into your editor. If you've never used one, don't worry. You'll just be pasting commands and hitting enter.
Next up: a couple of quick installs in that terminal so your project can run.