Setting Up The Repo

Before we start building features, we need to get the project up and running on your machine. This involves cloning the repository, installing dependencies, and setting up your development environment.

The repo has all the tools and structure we'll need for the rest of the workshop. Taking time now to set this up properly will save you headaches later.

Steps To Complete

Clone The Repository

• Open your terminal and navigate to where you want to store the project

• Clone the repository from GitHub

git clone https://github.com/mattpocock/ai-engineer-workshop-2026-project.git
cd ai-engineer-workshop-2026-project

Install Node.js (if needed)

• Check if you have Node.js installed

node --version

If you see a version number like v22.x.x or v24.x.x, you're good to go. If not, or if you're on an older version, visit nodejs.org and install Node.js version 22 or 24.

Install Project Dependencies

• From the project root directory, install all dependencies

npm install

Set Up The Database

• Seed the database with initial data

npm run db:seed

This will populate your local database with the data needed for the workshop exercises.

Verify The Setup

• Start the development server

npm run dev

You should see output indicating the dev server is running at localhost:5173.

• Open your browser and visit localhost:5173

You should see the application running without any errors.

• Stop the dev server

Press Ctrl+C (or Cmd+C on Mac) in your terminal to stop the server.

Congratulations! Your development environment is ready. You're now set up to start building features with AI assistance.