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Getting started with a project

Document Creation: 23 March, 2024. Last Edited: 10 July, 2024. Authors: Leesa Ward.

Prerequisites

  • Git installed
  • Node.js installed
  • IDE or editor of choice (e.g., WebStorm, VS Code)
  • Terminal of choice (e.g., Git Bash, Command Prompt, WSL, MacOS Terminal)
  • Web browser
  • Git credentials configured on your machine

Optional

  • Git GUI such as GitKraken, SourceTree, GitHub Desktop (if you prefer this over working only with terminal commands)

Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository you will be working on to your own account Screenshot of how to fork a repo

  2. Clone the repository to your local machine

    git clone https://github.com/your-username/your-repo-name.git

    (or SSH if you have set up SSH access to your GitHub account)

  3. Select a task to work on from the Planner Board. If a suitable task does not exist for you but you have identified something that needs to be done, create a task for it and assign yourself. If it is a large feature, break it up into small, discrete tasks.

  4. Create a branch for your current work, following the Capstone Branching Guidelines

    git branch <branch-name>
  5. Check out your branch

    git checkout <branch-name>
  6. Open your terminal and navigate to the project directory

    cd path/to/your-repo-name
  7. Run npm install to install the project dependencies

    npm install
  8. Run npm run dev to start the development server

    npm run dev
  9. Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost:5173 to view the application (or different port if specified in the terminal output).

  10. Make your changes.

  11. Commit your changes regularly and push your branch up to GitHub.