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Workstation Setup

These tools are used across all guides on this site. Set them up once here - individual guides will reference this page for prerequisites rather than repeating these steps.

Visual Studio Code​

One of the most widely used Integrated Development Environments (IDEs).

Installation: Run the installation wizard.

Recommended Extensions:

Docker Desktop​

Required for running Ignition locally via Docker Compose.

Installation: Run the installation wizard. On Windows, enable the WSL 2 backend when prompted.

Already using Docker?

If Docker Desktop is already installed, skip this step. Run docker --version to confirm.

Git​

The version control system used across all guides.

Download:

  • macOS (Homebrew)

    brew install git

  • Windows (Winget)

    winget install --id Git.Git --override ""

  • Direct Download

What is Homebrew / Winget?

Winget is the official package manager for Windows. Homebrew is a package manager for macOS and Linux. Both simplify installing and managing software from the command line.

Installation: Run the installation wizard. Override the default branch name to main - the historically used master has fallen out of favor.

Configuration:

  1. Verify git installed correctly:

    bash — ~
    $ git -v
git version 2.47.1

  2. Configure username and email (shown on commits and pull requests):

    git config --global user.name "your username"
    git config --global user.email "your@email.com"

  3. Verify:

    bash — ~
    $ git config --global user.name
your-username
$ git config --global user.email
your@email.com

GitHub CLI​

Download:

  • macOS (Homebrew)

    brew install gh

  • Windows (Winget)

    winget install -e --id GitHub.cli

  • Direct Download

Configuration:

  1. Verify installation:

    bash — ~
    $ gh status
You are not logged into any GitHub hosts. Run `gh auth login` to authenticate.

  2. Authenticate:

    bash — ~
    $ gh auth login
? What account do you want to log into? GitHub.com
? What is your preferred protocol for Git operations? HTTPS
? Authenticate Git with your GitHub credentials? Yes
? How would you like to authenticate GitHub CLI? Login with a web browser

! First copy your one-time code: C464-3A9D
Press Enter to open github.com in your browser...
✓ Authentication complete.
✓ Configured git protocol
✓ Logged in as your-username

More information: GitHub Quickstart

kubectl​

Required for the Helm Ignition lab. kubectl is the command-line tool for interacting with Kubernetes clusters.

Already installed?

Run kubectl version --client to confirm.

Download:

  • macOS (Homebrew)

    brew install kubectl

  • Windows (Winget)

    winget install -e --id Kubernetes.kubectl

  • Direct Download

Helm​

Required for the Helm Ignition lab. Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes.

Already installed?

Run helm version to confirm.

Download:

  • macOS (Homebrew)

    brew install helm

  • Windows (Winget)

    winget install -e --id Helm.Helm

  • Direct Download

Terraform​

Required for the Helm Ignition lab. Terraform provisions infrastructure declaratively.

Already installed?

Run terraform version to confirm.

Download:

  • macOS (Homebrew)

    brew tap hashicorp/tap
    brew install hashicorp/tap/terraform

  • Windows (Winget)

    winget install -e --id Hashicorp.Terraform

  • Direct Download

kind​

Required for the Helm Ignition lab. kind (Kubernetes in Docker) runs local Kubernetes clusters inside Docker containers. Terraform manages kind clusters in the labs, but the kind CLI is useful for inspecting cluster state.

Already installed?

Run kind version to confirm.

Download:

  • macOS (Homebrew)

    brew install kind

  • Windows (Winget)

    winget install -e --id Kubernetes.kind

  • Direct Download

Windows Users​

If you are on Windows, review Windows Setup Notes for Git line-ending configuration and long-path settings. For the Helm Ignition lab, WSL2 is strongly recommended - kind and Terraform work most reliably in a Linux environment.