The Environment Check

Before diving deeper into development, we need to confirm everything is set up correctly. A broken environment leads to mysterious errors, wasted time troubleshooting, and frustration.

Why This Matters

10 minutes of verification now saves hours of headaches later!

Complete Environment Checklist

Open VS Code and complete each verification:

Section 1: VS Code

Open VS Code and verify:

✅ VS Code Verification

0/7

How to Check Extensions:

Click the Extensions icon in sidebar (or Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X)
Click "Installed" filter at top
Verify Live Server, Prettier, and Codeium appear

Section 2: Node.js

In VS Code Terminal, run these commands:

✅ Node.js Verification

0/2

Screenshot this! Your terminal should show:

Bash

$ node --version
v20.10.0
 
$ npm --version
10.2.3

Section 3: Git

In VS Code Terminal, run these commands:

✅ Git Verification

0/3

Screenshot this! Your terminal should show:

Bash

$ git --version
git version 2.43.0
 
$ git config user.name
Alex Johnson
 
$ git config user.email
alex@example.com

Screenshot Challenge

Take ONE screenshot that shows ALL of this:

VS Code is open
Terminal is visible at bottom
Output of node --version
Output of npm --version
Output of git --version

How to get all versions in one view:

Windows PowerShell

echo "Node: $(node --version)"; echo "npm: $(npm --version)"; echo "Git: $(git --version)"

Expected output:

Node: v20.10.0
npm: 10.2.3
Git: git version 2.43.0

Troubleshooting Quick Reference

Environment Status Report

Fill this out for your records:

Text

=== MY DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT ===
 
Operating System: [Windows / Mac / Linux] version _______
 
VS Code: 
  Installed: [Yes / No]
  Version: _________ (Help → About)
  
Node.js:
  Installed: [Yes / No]
  Version: _________
  
npm:
  Installed: [Yes / No]
  Version: _________
  
Git:
  Installed: [Yes / No]
  Version: _________
  Name configured: _________
  Email configured: _________
 
Extensions:
  Live Server: [Installed / Not Installed]
  Prettier: [Installed / Not Installed]
  Codeium: [Installed / Not Installed]
 
All checks passed: [Yes / No]
 
Date: _________

Final Verification

Before marking this lesson complete:

Must Have (all required):

✅ Required Verifications

0/6

Should Have (highly recommended):

✅ Recommended Verifications

0/4

Success!

If all checks pass:

🎉 Congratulations!

Your development environment is ready!

You now have:

✅ Professional code editor (VS Code)
✅ JavaScript runtime (Node.js)
✅ Package manager (npm)
✅ Version control (Git)
✅ Essential extensions

This is the same setup used by professional developers worldwide!

Lesson Summary

What You Verified:

VS Code installation and functionality
Node.js and npm installation
Git installation and configuration
Essential extensions

Why This Matters

A working environment is the foundation for everything else. Small issues now become big problems later.

Next Up

Let's create and run your first local project! Time to put this environment to work.