Initial Setup (Mac)

Install the required tools on your Mac and verify your development environment.

💻 Using Windows? See Initial Setup (Windows).

Install the Claude Desktop App

In vibe coding, you build by giving instructions to Claude. First, install the Claude Desktop app and log in.

1. Download: Get the Mac app from claude.com/download
2. Install: Open the downloaded file and move the app to your Applications folder
3. Log in: Launch the app and log in with your Claude account (contact an admin if you don't have one)

The "Ask Claude" prompts throughout this guide can be pasted into the Claude Desktop app (Claude Code) or the Claude extension in VS Code.

Prerequisites Checklist

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

Verify Your Installation

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

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

Expected Output

You should see version numbers for each tool:

Homebrew: Homebrew 4.x.x
Node.js: v20.x.x
pnpm: 9.x.x
Git: git version 2.x.x
Git LFS: git-lfs/3.x.x (GitHub; darwin arm64; go 1.x.x)
GitHub CLI: gh version 2.x.x

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

Installation Guide

1. Install Homebrew

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

/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:

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:

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:

brew install git

5. Install GitHub CLI

The GitHub CLI (gh) allows Claude to create Pull Requests directly:

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:

brew install --cask visual-studio-code

After installing VS Code:

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

7. Install Git LFS

Git LFS (Large File Storage) is required for handling large binary files in the repository:

brew install git-lfs

# Initialize Git LFS for your user account
git lfs install

After running git lfs install, you should see:

Git LFS initialized.

Clone the Repository

Once all tools are installed, clone the repository:

# 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

Troubleshooting

"command not found: brew"

Add Homebrew to your PATH. For Apple Silicon Macs:

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

"gh: command not found" after installation

Restart your terminal or run:

source ~/.zshrc

"Permission denied" errors with npm global install

Use sudo for global npm package installations:

sudo npm install -g pnpm

Next Steps

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