# Bootstrapping an environment

> The tools every other tree assumes: git, a GitHub account, Claude Code and an editor. Read-only steps, no prompts, done once per machine.

Five short steps with no AI in them. Install git and sign in to GitHub, install Claude Code and sign in, pick an editor. Every other tree on Gradus starts by assuming these are done, so this is the one to do first on a new machine.

A talent tree on Gradus (https://gradus.kazet.blog). Every step below links to its page as Markdown, with what the step means and the prompt to hand an AI assistant. The map is at https://gradus.kazet.blog/tree/bootstrapping and a step's page is at https://gradus.kazet.blog/tree/bootstrapping/step/<step id>.

## Start

- [Before you start](https://gradus.kazet.blog/tree/bootstrapping/step/before-you-start.md): Every tree on Gradus hands prompts to an AI assistant working in a git repository.

## Tools: git, Claude Code, an editor

- [Install git](https://gradus.kazet.blog/tree/bootstrapping/step/install-git.md): Install git from git-scm.com or your package manager (brew install git on macOS, apt install git on Debian and Ubuntu, winget install Git.Git on Windows).
- [Install Claude Code](https://gradus.kazet.blog/tree/bootstrapping/step/install-claude-code.md): Install Claude Code from claude.com/claude-code: the native installer for your platform, or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code where Node is already present.
- [Pick an editor](https://gradus.kazet.blog/tree/bootstrapping/step/pick-an-editor.md): Choose the editor you will read and review code in: Visual Studio Code, Cursor, Zed or a JetBrains IDE all work, and VS Code and JetBrains have a Claude Code extension that shows diffs inline.

## Accounts: GitHub, Anthropic

- [A GitHub account](https://gradus.kazet.blog/tree/bootstrapping/step/github-account.md): Create an account at github.com if you have none, turn on two-factor authentication and let your machine push to it: run gh auth login after installing the GitHub CLI (brew install gh or the installer from cli.github.com), or add an SSH key under Settings, SSH and GPG keys.
- [Sign in to Claude](https://gradus.kazet.blog/tree/bootstrapping/step/sign-in-to-claude.md): Run claude in any folder and follow the sign-in: a Claude.ai subscription or an Anthropic Console account with API credit both work.