Initial Setup

Install the required tools and verify your development environment.

Prerequisites Checklist

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

Tool	Purpose	Required
Homebrew	Package manager for macOS	✅ Yes (Mac)
Node.js	JavaScript runtime	✅ Yes
pnpm	Fast package manager	✅ Yes
Git	Version control	✅ Yes
GitHub CLI (gh)	Create PRs from terminal	✅ Yes
VS Code	Code editor with Claude extension	✅ Yes

Verify Your Installation

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

Ask Claude to verify your setup

Claude prompt

Check if all the required development tools are installed on my machine: - Homebrew - Node.js (v20+) - pnpm - Git - GitHub CLI (gh) Show me the version of each tool.

Or run it yourselfbash

# Check all versions
echo "Homebrew: $(brew --version | head -1)"
echo "Node.js: $(node --version)"
echo "pnpm: $(pnpm --version)"
echo "Git: $(git --version)"
echo "GitHub CLI: $(gh --version | head -1)"

Expected Output

You should see version numbers for each tool:

Expected outputtext

Homebrew: Homebrew 4.x.x
Node.js: v20.x.x
pnpm: 9.x.x
Git: git version 2.x.x
GitHub CLI: gh version 2.x.x

If any tool shows "command not found", follow the installation guide below.

Installation Guide (macOS)

1. Install Homebrew

Homebrew is the package manager for macOS. Open Terminal and run:

Install Homebrewbash

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

After installation, follow the instructions to add Homebrew to your PATH.

2. Install Node.js

We recommend using Node.js version 20 or later:

Install Node.js via Homebrewbash

brew install node@20

# Or install the latest LTS version
brew install node

3. Install pnpm

pnpm is our package manager of choice for the monorepo. Global npm packages require sudo:

Install pnpmbash

sudo npm install -g pnpm

Why sudo? Global npm packages are installed in a system directory that requires administrator permissions. This is safe for trusted packages like pnpm.

4. Install Git

Git is usually pre-installed on macOS, but you can update it:

Install/Update Gitbash

brew install git

5. Install GitHub CLI

The GitHub CLI (gh) allows Claude to create Pull Requests directly. Global npm packages require sudo:

Install GitHub CLIbash

brew install gh

# Then authenticate with your GitHub account
gh auth login

When running gh auth login, choose:

GitHub.com
HTTPS
Authenticate with a web browser

6. Install VS Code with Claude Extension

VS Code is our recommended editor with the Claude extension for AI-assisted coding:

Install VS Codebash

brew install --cask visual-studio-code

After installing VS Code:

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (⌘+Shift+X)
Search for "Claude" by Anthropic
Click Install

Clone the Repository

Once all tools are installed, clone the repository:

Ask Claude to clone the repo

Claude prompt

Clone the vibe-coding-platform repository from https://github.com/CoworkingKitchen/vibe-coding-platform and install dependencies.

Or run it yourselfbash

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

# Navigate to the directory
cd vibe-coding-platform

# Install all dependencies
pnpm install

Setup Quiz

Quiz

Which command should you use to install dependencies in this monorepo?

npm installyarn installpnpm installbun install

Troubleshooting

"command not found: brew"

Add Homebrew to your PATH. For Apple Silicon Macs:

Add Homebrew to PATHbash

echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

"gh: command not found" after installation

Restart your terminal or run:

Reload shell configurationbash

source ~/.zshrc

"Permission denied" errors with npm global install

Use sudo for global npm package installations:

Install with sudobash

sudo npm install -g pnpm

Next Steps

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