🛠️ Your First Dev Environment Setup Guide

The beginner's guide to setting up Git and Node.js on Windows, macOS, and Linux. No experience required — we'll walk you through every single step.

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📋 Table of Contents

• 🧭 Before You Begin
• 🐙 Part 1 — Install Git
• ⚙️ Part 2 — Configure Git
• 🟢 Part 3 — Install Node.js
• 🔑 Part 4 — Generate an SSH Key
• 🐱 Part 5 — Add Your SSH Key to GitHub
• 🎉 You're All Set!

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🧭 Before You Begin

What will I learn?

By the end of this guide, you'll have two essential tools that every developer uses — installed, configured, and ready to go:

Tool	What it does
🐙 Git	Tracks every change you make to your code — like Google Docs version history, but for entire projects
🟢 Node.js	Lets your computer run JavaScript code outside of a browser

You'll also connect your computer to GitHub, the world's most popular platform for storing and sharing code.

What is a terminal?

A terminal (also called a command line, shell, or console) is a text-based window where you type commands to control your computer. It sounds scary — it isn't. Most of the time you're just copying, pasting, and hitting Enter.

Here's how to open yours:

💻 Your Computer	How to Open the Terminal
🪟 Windows	Press Win + R, type powershell, and hit Enter — or search "PowerShell" in the Start menu
🍎 macOS	Press Cmd + Space, type terminal, and hit Enter
🐧 Linux	Press Ctrl + Alt + T, or search for "Terminal" in your app launcher

Tip

Whenever you see a shaded code block like this, it's a command meant to be typed (or pasted) into your terminal. Copy it exactly and press Enter to run it.

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🐙 Part 1 — Install Git

Git is a version control system. It keeps a complete history of every change you ever make to your code — meaning you can always roll back to a previous version if something breaks, or collaborate with others without overwriting each other's work.

Think of it as an undo button that never expires and works across your entire project.

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🪟 Windows

The easiest way to install Git on Windows is using winget — a built-in package manager available on Windows 10 and 11.

Open PowerShell and run:

winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget

Note

This automatically installs the latest version of Git without clicking through any installer menus.

Prefer a traditional installer? Download it directly:

• 🔗 64-bit Git for Windows Setup (v2.53.0)
• 🔗 32-bit Git for Windows Setup (v2.53.0)

Tip

Not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit? Almost every Windows machine made after 2010 is 64-bit. When in doubt, pick that one.

After installation, close and reopen PowerShell, then confirm it worked:

git --version

You should see something like: git version 2.53.0.windows.1

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🍎 macOS

The best way to install Git on a Mac is through Homebrew — a package manager that turns installing developer tools into a single command.

Step 1 — Install Homebrew

Open Terminal and paste this entire command (yes, it's long):

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

The installer will ask for your Mac's login password. Type it in — you won't see any characters appear as you type, and that's completely normal. Press Enter when done and follow any on-screen instructions.

Note

Homebrew installs to /opt/homebrew on Apple Silicon Macs (M1/M2/M3/M4) and /usr/local on older Intel Macs. The installer handles this automatically.

Step 2 — Install Git

brew install git

Verify the installation:

git --version

You should see something like: git version 2.53.0

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🐧 Linux

Find the section that matches your Linux distribution and run the command in your terminal. The sudo prefix grants administrator privileges — your system will ask for your password.

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt install git

Want the absolute latest version? Use Ubuntu's official Git PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:git-core/ppa && sudo apt update && sudo apt install git

Fedora

# Fedora 22 and later
sudo dnf install git

# Fedora 21 and earlier
sudo yum install git

Arch Linux / Manjaro

sudo pacman -S git

openSUSE

sudo zypper install git

Alpine Linux

sudo apk add git

Other distributions

Distro	Command
Gentoo	sudo emerge --ask --verbose dev-vcs/git
Mageia	sudo urpmi git
Nix / NixOS	nix-env -i git
FreeBSD	sudo pkg install git
OpenBSD	sudo pkg_add git
Solaris 11	pkg install developer/versioning/git

Verify the installation:

git --version

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⚙️ Part 2 — Configure Git

Git is installed, but it doesn't know who you are yet. Let's fix that. Git uses your name and email to label your contributions, so when you work with teammates, everyone can see who made which changes.

Important

Use the exact same email address you used (or plan to use) when signing up for GitHub. This is how GitHub links your commits to your account.

Run each of the following commands, replacing the placeholder text with your own info:

Set your name:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"

Set your email:

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

Set the default branch name to main:

git config --global init.defaultBranch main

Note

Git traditionally called the main branch "master." The industry has broadly moved to "main." This command ensures every new project you create follows that modern convention from the start.

Confirm everything looks right:

git config --list

Your output should look something like this:

user.name=Your Name
user.email=your@email.com
init.defaultbranch=main

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🟢 Part 3 — Install Node.js

Node.js lets your computer run JavaScript — the same language that powers websites — as a standalone program, outside of any browser. It's the foundation of countless developer tools, web servers, and applications.

We're going to install it using a version manager: a special tool that lets you install, update, and switch between different versions of Node.js with a single command. This is the professional approach, and it's easier than it sounds.

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🐧🍎 Linux & macOS — via NVM

NVM (Node Version Manager) is the most popular and well-tested way to manage Node.js on Linux and macOS.

Step 1 — Install NVM

Using curl (recommended):

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.4/install.sh | bash

Or using wget:

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.4/install.sh | bash

Note

The install script automatically adds NVM to your shell configuration file (.bashrc, .zshrc, or similar), so it activates every time you open a new terminal.

Step 2 — Restart your terminal

Close your current terminal window completely and open a fresh one. This step is required — NVM won't be active until you do.

Step 3 — Verify NVM installed

nvm --version

You should see a version number like 0.40.4. If you see a "command not found" error, try closing and reopening your terminal again.

Step 4 — Install Node.js

Install the LTS version — the stable, recommended version for most people:

nvm install --lts

Verify that Node.js and npm installed correctly:

node --version
npm --version

Tip

LTS stands for "Long-Term Support." It means this version is stable, thoroughly tested, and will receive security patches for years to come. It's the version you want for any real project. The current LTS as of 2026 is Node.js v24 (codename: Krypton).

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🪟 Windows — via fnm

Windows gets its own version manager: fnm (Fast Node Manager). It's blazing fast, works natively in PowerShell, and is just as easy to use as NVM.

Step 1 — Install fnm

Open PowerShell and run:

winget install Schniz.fnm

Note

Close and reopen PowerShell after this step so the fnm command becomes available.

Step 2 — Install Node.js LTS

fnm use --install-if-missing 24

Step 3 — Verify your installation

node --version
npm --version

You should see a Node.js version starting with v24 and an npm version starting with 10.

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🔑 Part 4 — Generate an SSH Key

An SSH key is like a digital passport that proves your identity to GitHub — without a password. Once it's set up, your computer and GitHub do a secret cryptographic handshake every time you push code.

You'll create two files:

File	Description
🔐 Private key (id_ed25519)	Stays on your computer — never share this with anyone
📢 Public key (id_ed25519.pub)	Safe to share — you'll give this to GitHub

In your terminal, run the following (replace the email with your GitHub email):

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@github.email"

The tool will ask you a few questions:

1. Where to save the key → Press Enter to use the default location (~/.ssh/id_ed25519)
2. Passphrase → Press Enter to skip, or type a password for extra security
3. Confirm passphrase → Press Enter again (or retype your password)

Tip

ed25519 is the type of encryption algorithm. It's the modern, secure standard recommended by GitHub for new SSH keys.

Now view your public key so you can copy it:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

You'll see a long string of characters that starts with ssh-ed25519. Select the entire output and copy it — you'll paste it into GitHub in the next step.

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🐱 Part 5 — Add Your SSH Key to GitHub

1. Go to github.com/settings/keys

2. Click the "New SSH key" button:

   

3. Fill in the form:

   • Title — Give it a name you'll recognize (e.g., My Laptop, Work MacBook)
   • Key type — Leave it as Authentication Key
   • Key — Paste the public key you copied in the previous step

4. Click "Add SSH key":

   

✅ Test your connection

Run this in your terminal to confirm the key is working:

ssh -T git@github.com

Note

The very first time you connect, your terminal will display a message asking if you trust GitHub's server fingerprint. Type yes and press Enter.

If everything is set up correctly, you'll see:

Hi <your-username>! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

That message means it worked — congratulations!

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🎉 You're All Set!

You now have a fully configured, professional-grade development environment. Here's a summary of everything you accomplished:

✅	Milestone
🐙	Installed Git for version control
⚙️	Configured your Git identity (name, email, default branch)
🟢	Installed Node.js for running JavaScript
🔑	Generated a secure SSH key
🐱	Connected your computer to GitHub

🚀 What to do next

Try your very first Git workflow:

1. Create a repository on GitHub
2. Clone it to your computer:

   git clone git@github.com:your-username/your-repo-name.git

3. Create or edit a file, then save your changes
4. Stage and commit your changes:

   git add .
   git commit -m "My first commit"

5. Push to GitHub:

   git push

Tip

If your first push asks you to set an upstream branch, run: git push -u origin main

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Happy coding! 🚀

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Special thanks to the nvm, fnm, Node.js, and Git teams for building incredible open-source tools that make developer onboarding this smooth.