Remote Development Intro Chapter 1: Set Up
Welcome to Chapter 1 of ACA’s Remote Development Intro. By the end of this series, you'll have a working GitHub Codespace with a functional Python program. This chapter covers setup. If you're new to remote development, check out our previous blog for an introduction. No prior experience is required—this guide is for beginners.
Goal
Create a GitHub account, clone a repository, and start a GitHub Codespace.
Notes
Follow each step carefully. Under each, I'll define key terms. FYI, I’m a dark mode snob 🌒, hence the dark-themed screenshots.
Chapter 1: Setup
1: Create Your GitHub Account
Definitions:
- GitHub: A web-based platform for managing Git repositories.
- Git: A distributed version control system for tracking changes in source code during software development.
- Version Control System: A tool that tracks changes in code, allowing collaboration and edit history preservation.
If you already have a GitHub account, skip this step.
Create your GitHub account. For this chapter, a free GitHub plan is sufficient. Changing your username is possible but tedious, so I recommend spending a few minutes on choosing a suitable username. See this discussion for guidance.
2: Fork the remote-development-intro Repository
Definitions:
- Repository: A project folder containing code, files, and version history.
- Forking: Copying an existing repository to your own account, allowing you to modify it independently. It’s like duplicating a Google Doc—except you can also suggest changes to the original repository (not needed for this chapter).
Then
3: Create Your Codespace
Definitions:
- Codespace: A cloud-based development environment powered by GitHub, accessible via a browser or Visual Studio Code.
- Main: The default branch in a Git repository, typically containing the latest stable version of the code.
To create a Codespace, click Code → Create Codespace on main.
4: Confirm Your Codespace is Running in Visual Studio Code for Web
Definitions:
- Visual Studio Code (VS Code): A code editor by Microsoft.
- Visual Studio Code for Web: A browser-based version of VS Code, allowing remote development without installing software.
Once your Codespace starts, ensure it loads correctly in VS Code for Web.
Open the hello_world.py file under the src/chapter1 folder to see its contents. In Python, print is a function that displays the contents.
5: Run This Command in your Terminal
Definitions:
- Terminal: a text-based user interface where you can type commands to interact with your computer and run programs.
- Command: an instruction given to the computer.
In your terminal, type this command and press enter.
python3 src/chapter1/hello_world.py
This runs the Python program inside your Codespace.
6: Close Your Codespace
To close your Codespace, click the Codespaces button on the bottom left → Stop Current Codespace.
Alternatively, go to the Codespaces tab on GitHub and stop the session.
Done ✅
That’s it! You now have a remote development environment on your GitHub account. You can start and stop your Codespace anytime—just note that free accounts have limited usage per month. In the next chapter, we’ll make our first code change and learn how to save it using Git.
Questions?
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