Setup Instructions

General computing requirements

There are a few computing requirements for the course that are absolutely necessary (beyond the few software packages we would like you to install, described below):

You must have administrator access to your computer (i.e., you must be able to install things yourself without requesting IT approval).
You must have at least 40 GB of free disk space on your computer (but we would recommend more, to be safe).
If you are using Windows you must be using Windows 10 or 11; Windows 7 and 8 will not be sufficient for this course.

If you foresee any of these being a problem, please reach out to one of the instructors (or use the #help-installation channel in the QLS612 Slack) before the start of the course for steps you can take to ensure you are ready for the lectures.

Required software

To get the most out of our course, please arrive with the software listed below already installed (or to the best of your ability). The rest of this page provides installation procedures for each of the above programs, including specific instructions for each of the three major operating systems (Windows, Mac OS, and Linux).

A command-line shell: Bash
A version control system: Git
A text editor and integrated development environment: Visual Studio Code
Python 3 via Miniconda
A virtualization system: Docker
A GitHub account
Slack
A modern browser

Some quick general notes on instructions

There is no difference between Enter and Return in these instructions, so just press whatever the equivalent on your keyboard is whenever one is stated.
If you already have some of these things installed on your computer already that should (theoretically) be okay.
However, for example, having multiple different Python installations on your computer can lead to incredibly frustrating issues that are very difficult to debug. As such, if you have already installed Python via some other application (not Miniconda/Anaconda), we strongly encourage you to uninstall it before following the instructions below. You must have Python installed via Miniconda for this course.

GitHub account

Follow the instructions at https://github.com/join/ to create an account. We recommend using your university e-mail for the account if you have one (you can always change it later or add a secondary e-mail).
We strongly recommend also signing up for GitHub Education Student, which provides free access to perks and tools including the GitHub Student Developer Pack. The application process is very quick, and verification typically takes no more than a couple days at most.

Slack

Go to https://slack.com/downloads/ and download and install Slack.

Modern web browser

Install Firefox, Chrome, or Safari.

OS-specific installation instructions

Once you have completed the above general setup, select the link that corresponds to your operating system and follow the instructions provided. Please direct any questions to the #help-installation channel in the QLS612 Slack.