Chapter 00: Tool Setup

Chapter 00: Tool Setup

January 1, 2026 | Next part |

This is a programming course where you are encouraged to copy and paste examples into a running code environment. The following is the recommended tooling setup (Java 25, Git, and Visual Studio Code), although you are free to use any programming tools you want.

If you want to verify that running the setup script is safe, see the “Auditing the script” section below.

🪛 Tool Setup

macOS

To install the necessary programs to get started with Java on macOS, open the Terminal application, then copy and paste these commands:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/prarsena/cs180-source-code/main/scripts/setup.sh -o ~/setup.sh
chmod +x ~/setup.sh
bash ~/setup.sh

Notes:

  • Before Homebrew can run, macOS often intercepts it and demands to install “Xcode Command Line Tools.” This pops up a separate window that takes 5-10 minutes to download/install.
  • When it asks for a password, type your Mac login password and hit Enter. You won’t see the cursor move or dots appear. This is normal security.

Windows

To install the necessary programs to get started with Java on Windows, click the Windows Start menu and type “PowerShell”. Right-click the Windows PowerShell application and select “Run as Administrator”. Then copy and paste this command into the terminal window:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/prarsena/cs180-source-code/main/scripts/setup.ps1 | iex

If you get a red “Running scripts is disabled on this system” error, use this “One-Time Unlock” command and then run the above command again:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/prarsena/cs180-source-code/main/scripts/setup.ps1 | iex

After the script completes, Visual Studio Code opens to complete installing the Extensions. After the program stabilizes, I recommend you close the program, then click the Windows Start menu and type “Visual Studio Code” (or just “code”), then open the program as a regular (non-administrator) user.

Auditing the script

If you want ensure the setup script is safe:

  1. Visit the script URL in a web browser. The setup script contains every action that will be performed on your system, along with explanatory comments.
  2. Read the comments. Every major action is explained in green/gray text.
  3. Verify the URLs. The scripts pull from official sources:
    • winget (Microsoft/Windows default)
    • brew.sh (The standard Mac tool)
    • github.com (The specific course repo)
  4. No Data Exfiltration. There are no curl or upload commands sending your data out. There are only install commands bringing tools in.

Feel free to paste the contents of the setup script into your favorite LLM and ask the LLM to analyze it and report on its safety.

🛠️ Troubleshooting Your Java Environment

If clicking the “Play” button in VS Code doesn’t work, verify these components manually in your terminal:

  1. Verify Java 25: Type java –version.

Expected: openjdk 25.x.x. If it says 1.8 or 11, the script didn’t update your Path.

  1. Verify VS Code Settings: Open a .java file. Look at the bottom right of the VS Code window. Does it say JavaSE-25?

If not, click it and select JavaSE-25 from the list.