Installation Guide

Welcome! Before starting, please make sure you install some basic things that we need throughout this course.

What you'll install:

  • VS Code (code editor)

  • Git

  • Configure SSH Key access in Github

  • Python

  • Creating a virtual environment, activating the environment and installing some dependencies

  • Run a jupyter notebook .ipynb file in VScode


Installing Visual Studio Code

  1. Go to code.visualstudio.com

  2. Download and open the downloaded file and follow the instructions to install VS Code

  3. Open VS Code after installation

Important: Make sure to check the "Add to PATH" option during installation

After installing VS Code, install these helpful extensions:

  • Python (by Microsoft) - Essential for Python development

  • Ruff (by Astral Software) - Python linter and code formatter

  • Jupyter (by Microsoft) - For running Jupyter notebooks

  • Git Graph - Visual representation of your Git repositories

  • GitLens - Enhanced Git capabilities

To install extensions:

  1. Open VS Code

  2. Click the Extensions icon in the sidebar (or press Ctrl+Shift+X)

  3. Search for each extension and click "Install"


Setting up Git

  1. Go to git-scm.com

  2. Download and install Git for your operating system (Windows, Mac, or Linux)

  3. Open a terminal or command prompt and type:

git --version
If you see a version number, Git is installed!

Tip: On Windows, you can use Git Bash (installed with Git) for a better terminal experience.

Make sure to check the necessary boxes while installing git

Installing Visual Studio Code

  1. Go to code.visualstudio.com

  2. Download and open the downloaded file and follow the instructions to install VS Code

  3. Open VS Code after installation

Important: Make sure to check the "Add to PATH" option during installation

After installing VS Code, install these helpful extensions: - Python (by Microsoft) - Essential for Python development

  • Jupyter (by Microsoft) - For running Jupyter notebooks

  • Git Graph - Visual representation of your Git repositories

  • Ruff - Python extension for linting and formatting

  • GitLens - Enhanced Git capabilities

To install extensions: 1. Open VS Code

  1. Click the Extensions icon in the sidebar (or press Ctrl+Shift+X)

  2. Search for each extension and click "Install"

Setting up Git

Installation

  1. Go to git-scm.com

  2. Download and install Git for your operating system (Windows, Mac, or Linux)

  3. Important installation options:

  4. ✅ Check "Add Git to PATH"

  5. ✅ Use Git from the command line and 3rd-party software

  6. ✅ Use the OpenSSL library

  7. ✅ Checkout Windows-style, commit Unix-style line endings

  8. Open a terminal or command prompt and type:

git --version

If you see a version number, Git is installed successfully!

Configure Git (First-time setup)

Set up your identity for Git commits:

git config --global user.name "Your Github Username"
git config --global user.email "github.email@example.com"

Note: Use the same email address as your GitHub account.

Tip: On Windows, you can use Git Bash (installed with Git) for a better terminal experience.

Configure SSH Key Access in GitHub

Why SSH Keys?

SSH keys provide a secure way to connect to GitHub without entering your username and password every time.

Step 1: Check for existing SSH keys

Open terminal/Git Bash and run:

ls -al ~/.ssh

If you see files like id_rsa and id_rsa.pub or id_ed25519 and id_ed25519.pub, you already have SSH keys.

Step 2: Generate a new SSH key (if needed)

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com"

When prompted:

  • Press Enter to save in the default location

  • Enter a passphrase (optional but recommended)

Step 3: Add SSH key to GitHub

  1. Copy your public key: 

    cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

  2. Go to GitHub.com and log in

  3. Click your profile picture → Settings

  4. In the sidebar, click "SSH and GPG keys"

  5. Click "New SSH key"

  6. Give it a title (e.g., "My Laptop")

  7. Paste your key in the "Key" field

  8. Click "Add SSH key"

Step 5: Test your connection

ssh -T git@github.com

You should see a message like: "Hi username! You've successfully authenticated..."

Installing Python

  1. Go to python.org/downloads

  2. Download Python 3.11 or later

  3. Important: During installation, check "Add Python to PATH"

  4. Verify installation:

python --version
or 
python3 --version

Option 2: Using Package Managers

Windows (using winget): 

winget install Python.Python.3.11

Mac (using Homebrew): 

brew install python@3

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian): 

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3 python3-venv python3-pip

Verify pip installation

pip --version

If pip is not found, install it: 

python -m ensurepip --upgrade

Creating and Managing Virtual Environments

Why Virtual Environments?

Virtual environments keep your project dependencies isolated and prevent conflicts between different projects.

Step 1: Create a virtual environment

Navigate to your project folder and run:

python -m venv myenv

For any issues in powershell you can execute this line

On Microsoft Windows, it may required to enable the Activate.ps1 script by setting the execution policy for the user. You can do this by issuing the following Powershell command:

PS C:\> Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Replace myenv with your preferred environment name.

Step 2: Activate the virtual environment

Windows:

myenv\Scripts\activate

Using git bash

source myenv/Scripts/activate

Mac/Linux:

source myenv/bin/activate

Success indicator: Your terminal prompt should show (myenv) at the beginning.

Step 3: Install dependencies

With your virtual environment activated, install packages:

# Essential data science packages
pip install uv

uv pip install ipykernel pandas numpy matplotlib seaborn statsmodels scikit-learn

# Or install from a requirements file
pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 4: Deactivate when done

deactivate

Creating a requirements.txt file

To save your current dependencies: 

pip freeze > requirements.txt

Common Issues and Solutions

Git Issues

  • Problem: Git commands not recognized

  • Solution: Reinstall Git and ensure "Add to PATH" is checked

Python Issues

  • Problem: Python not found

  • Solution: Add Python to system PATH or reinstall with PATH option checked

Virtual Environment Issues

  • Problem: Cannot activate virtual environment

  • Solution: Check the activation command for your OS and ensure you're in the correct directory

Jupyter Issues

  • Problem: Kernel not starting in VS Code

  • Solution: Install ipykernel in your virtual environment and restart VS Code

Great work! You’ve successfully completed this tutorial.

Before moving on to the next one, double-check that you’ve followed all the steps carefully.

✨ Happy coding, and see you in the next tutorial!