Setting Up Your Development Environment

Windows and Mac are generally not well set up for most development tasks out-of-the-box. We recommend installing an IDE which will handle most of the required features for you.

(If you’ve already got a preferred development set up, feel free to keep using it! If you’re in the beginner track, you may also be able to use Repl.it as an alternative to installing anything.)

👉 You can get a free license to all of these programs using this link: https://www.jetbrains.com/community/education/#students

If you experience any delays in getting approved, use a trial license in the meantime.

• C/C++: https://www.jetbrains.com/clion/
• Go: https://www.jetbrains.com/go/
• Java: https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/
• PHP: https://www.jetbrains.com/phpstorm/
• Python: https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/
• C#:
  • If you’re on Windows:
  • If you’re on Mac/Linux: https://www.jetbrains.com/rider/
• Ruby: https://www.jetbrains.com/ruby/
• Javascript, Typescript, HTML/CSS (including frameworks like React, React Native, Expo.io, Angular, Node.js): https://www.jetbrains.com/webstorm/
• Rust: https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/ and https://www.jetbrains.com/rust/
• Android: https://developer.android.com/studio
• iOS or Mac Apps, excluding React Native/Expo.io: https://developer.apple.com/xcode/ (you will need to have a Mac)

Docker

If you’re using Docker, we recommend setting up Docker Desktop: https://docs.docker.com/desktop/

Windows Command Line

If you’re using Windows, we recommend you install the new Windows Terminal app: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/windows-terminal/9n0dx20hk701?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

When using Windows Terminal, your life will generally be easier if you use Powershell instead of the default Command Line.