Terminal Setup on Windows¶

Git, Node.js, and your AI coding tools, in a terminal you already have. No WSL: your projects stay in normal Windows folders like D:\Projects.

📅 This is due before Wed, Sep 9, the Git session. Not before Wed, Sep 2.¶

The Karel session needs nothing but IntelliJ, and that guide is the whole of that week's homework. Doing this one early is fine; doing it instead is not.

⏱️ The required part is four installs and about fifteen minutes.¶

Everything after that is optional. It makes the terminal nicer to look at and live in, and none of it is needed for any assignment in this course. Do the required part, then stop if you want to. Come back to the rest when you're curious, over a weekend, when nothing is due.

Windows Terminal          ← already on your machine
└── PowerShell            ← already on your machine
    ├── Git               ← required
    ├── Node.js           ← required
    ├── Copilot CLI       ← required
    ├── Codex CLI         ← required
    ├── PowerShell 7      ← optional
    ├── WezTerm           ← optional
    ├── Starship prompt   ← optional
    └── Claude Code       ← optional

1. Open your terminal¶

You already have one. Press the Windows key, type terminal, and open Windows Terminal. That's it. That's the whole step.

It opens Windows PowerShell, which is fine. Every command in this course works in it: javac, java, git, npm, and both AI agents.

You'll see people online insist you need a "better" terminal. You don't, not to learn anything, and definitely not this month. There's a section at the bottom if you want a nicer one later.

Try these, so the window feels less like a void:

Get-Location
Get-ChildItem
cd ~

2. Install Git¶

Git is how your code gets a history and gets to GitHub. We use it in class on Wed, Sep 9.

winget install Git.Git

Close Windows Terminal and reopen it. New installs don't show up in a window that was already open, which is the single most common "it didn't work" of this whole page.

Then set your identity. This gets attached to every commit you ever make, so use the same email as your GitHub account or your commits won't link to your profile:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your-email@example.com"
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global core.autocrlf true

3. Install Node.js¶

You are not going to write any JavaScript in this course. Node is here for one reason: it's how both AI agents install.

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

Close and reopen the terminal again, then check:

node --version
npm --version

4. Install the AI coding tools¶

Copilot CLI, your primary agent. It needs the GitHub Student Developer Pack approved first: see Accounts & Tools.

npm install -g @github/copilot

Run copilot once and it walks you through signing in.

Codex CLI, your comparison agent. We run the two side by side on Wed, Sep 23 and the differences are the point.

npm install -g @openai/codex

Both agents run inside a project folder, not in the abstract:

cd D:\Projects\MyProject
copilot

5. Check it all worked¶

Close the terminal, open a fresh one, and paste this whole block in:

git --version
node --version
npm --version
copilot --version
codex --version

Five lines, five version numbers. If one errors, that tool didn't install: go back to its section. If a tool you just installed says it isn't recognized, close the window and open a new one before you believe it.

That's the assignment. If you got five versions, you're done and you can stop here.

Optional: make the terminal nicer¶

None of this is required. Nothing in this course grades it, and no assignment breaks without it. It's here because a terminal you like looking at is one you'll actually open, and because at some point you'll want to know what those people online were on about.

Do this on a weekend, not the night before class.

PowerShell 7¶

Windows ships PowerShell 5.1. Version 7 is faster, handles errors better, and is the one most tutorials assume.

winget install Microsoft.PowerShell

The executable is pwsh.exe, not powershell.exe. In Windows Terminal, click the ∨ next to the plus tab and pick PowerShell (the one without "Windows" in front). To make it the default: Settings → Startup → Default profile.

$PSVersionTable.PSVersion    # major version should be 7

WezTerm¶

A GPU-accelerated terminal with tabs, panes, custom fonts, and Lua configuration.

winget install wez.wezterm

WezTerm reads C:\Users\YourName\.wezterm.lua. Open it:

notepad $HOME\.wezterm.lua

Paste this in, changing default_cwd to your own project folder (forward slashes, even on Windows):

local wezterm = require("wezterm")
local config = wezterm.config_builder()

-- Open PowerShell 7 instead of WSL or Windows PowerShell
config.default_prog = { "pwsh.exe", "-NoLogo" }
config.default_cwd = "D:/Projects"

config.font = wezterm.font("JetBrains Mono")
config.font_size = 15
config.color_scheme = "Catppuccin Mocha"

config.window_background_opacity = 0.94
config.window_decorations = "TITLE | RESIZE"
config.window_padding = { left = 10, right = 10, top = 8, bottom = 8 }

config.enable_tab_bar = true
config.hide_tab_bar_if_only_one_tab = true
config.use_fancy_tab_bar = false

config.scrollback_lines = 100000
config.automatically_reload_config = true

config.keys = {
  { key = "c", mods = "CTRL|SHIFT", action = wezterm.action.CopyTo("Clipboard") },
  { key = "v", mods = "CTRL|SHIFT", action = wezterm.action.PasteFrom("Clipboard") },
  { key = "t", mods = "CTRL|SHIFT", action = wezterm.action.SpawnTab("CurrentPaneDomain") },
}

return config

That config names JetBrains Mono, so install it too or WezTerm falls back to something plainer:

winget install --id DEVCOM.JetBrainsMonoNerdFont

Starship¶

A prompt that shows your folder, your Git branch, and whether you have uncommitted changes, without you asking.

winget install Starship.Starship

Turn it on in your PowerShell profile:

New-Item -ItemType File -Path $PROFILE -Force   # only if it doesn't exist yet
notepad $PROFILE

Add:

Invoke-Expression (&starship init powershell)

Set-Alias ll Get-ChildItem
Set-Alias grep Select-String

Save and restart the terminal. If PowerShell blocks the profile, run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned and restart again.

Claude Code¶

Not required for anything in this course. The instructor demos it in class.

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Useful PowerShell commands¶

Command	What it does
`Get-ChildItem`	List files
`cd D:\Projects`	Change directory
`cd ..`	Go up one folder
`Get-Location`	Print the folder you're in
`mkdir MyProject`	Create a folder
`explorer .`	Open this folder in File Explorer
`idea .`	Open this folder in IntelliJ (if you ticked "Add bin folder to PATH")
`code .`	Open this folder in VS Code, for your programming class
`notepad README.md`	Open a file in Notepad
`Remove-Item file.txt`	Delete a file
`Remove-Item folder -Recurse`	Delete a folder and everything in it, carefully
Ctrl-C	Stop whatever is running

. means "right here." .. means "one folder up." ~ is your home folder.

ll as a shortcut for Get-ChildItem comes from the optional Starship section above. If you skipped it, type the long name.

Troubleshooting¶

git, node, copilot, or codex "is not recognized." Close the terminal window completely and open a new one. This fixes it most of the time, because a window that was already open has a stale list of where programs live. If it persists after a restart, check npm's global folder with npm config get prefix, and test with Get-Command copilot.

winget isn't recognized. You're on an older Windows build. Install App Installer from the Microsoft Store, or bring the laptop to office hours.

Everything is broken. Bring the laptop to office hours. Ten minutes in person beats three weeks of being stuck.

The rest of these only apply if you did the optional section:

WezTerm opens WSL. Delete any config.default_domain = "WSL:Ubuntu" and config.wsl_domains lines from .wezterm.lua, and make sure config.default_prog = { "pwsh.exe", "-NoLogo" } is present.

WezTerm can't find pwsh.exe. PowerShell 7 isn't installed. Install it first.

No minimize, maximize, or close buttons. Your config says window_decorations = "RESIZE", which hides the Windows title bar. Use "TITLE | RESIZE".

Starship doesn't appear. Confirm $PROFILE contains the Invoke-Expression line, then reload with . $PROFILE.

Recommended stack¶

Component	Recommendation	Needed for this course?
Terminal emulator	Windows Terminal	✅ Required, already installed
Shell	Windows PowerShell	✅ Required, already installed
Git	Git for Windows	✅ Required
JavaScript runtime	Node.js LTS	✅ Required
AI coding tools	Copilot CLI and Codex CLI	✅ Required
Project location	Windows filesystem, not WSL	✅ Required
Editor	IntelliJ IDEA for this course; VS Code for Intro to Programming	✅ Required
Shell upgrade	PowerShell 7	⚪ Optional
Terminal upgrade	WezTerm	⚪ Optional
Prompt	Starship	⚪ Optional
Font	JetBrains Mono	⚪ Optional
Third agent	Claude Code	⚪ Optional

The macOS version of this page is here. Both setups do the same things with different names.