Help a Newbie here

Hey I am new to programming and want to know how I can set up my laptop to program, what I need to install, configure etc.

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Hey @desmondslattery!

Welcome to the forum!

If you want to get started with the FCC curriculum you don’t need to install anything. All of the challenges are done right through the FCC website.

Once you start working on the projects you can then think about using a code editor but I wouldn’t worry about that just yet.

Hope that helps!

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Thanks so much for your email, yeah I’m halfway through the responsive web design and want to learn through project based learning it suits me better I feel. So can I build the projects right on Freecodecamp? I don’t have to worry about installing anything?

you don’t need to worry about installing anything, but you can’t do all the projects on freeCodeCamp (only the JavaScript cert ones), when you reach the projects you will be suggested an online tool to use (the Responsive Web Design cert suggests codepen.io, for other projects repl.it is suggested)

Hey @desmondslattery welcome to the FCC Forum! I agree, if you need the simplest way to develop projects, I suggest you use CodePen.io just like @ilenia suggested.

Of course, You’ll soon need to learn code editors but in these initial stages CodePen should be fine.

Also, quick word of Advice, don’t be like me and start the projects before you understand the course, and take notes, it helps later (trust me LOL).

Happy coding :slight_smile:

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Well to get started, install node, npm, git and then go for a suitable browser (vs code being the most popular) and you are done for offline practice. Create a index.htm file and open it in browser (chrome being the most popular).

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@cy499_studios thanks so much, yeah as I go along I take down all the notes and highlight and underline amongst other things. I think for now yeah I’ll just use the simplest thing possible and then worry about the rest later.

Thanks @ilenia, much appreciated!

Yeah when your ready there are tons of guides to code editors, git, and other tools you need to learn later on but remember,

The most important thing is coding, the tools come and go but it’s the knowledge that matters the most. So don’t feel bad if your confused with all the tools at your disposal, just make sure you learn before you leap.

All us devs in the forums will be here to help you with everything else​:smiley::+1:

I appreciate your advice I’m looking forward to everything that lays ahead!