LOCAL_SETUP.md

Local Setup

This guide is written for a first-time setup. All command-line steps below are run inside the VS Code Terminal on Mac (shell: zsh).

1. Install GitHub Desktop and clone the repository

1. Download and install GitHub Desktop: https://desktop.github.com/
2. Open GitHub Desktop and sign in to your GitHub account.
3. In GitHub Desktop, click File > Clone repository....
4. Find geobtaa.github.io in the list (or paste the repo URL).
5. Choose where to save it on your computer.
6. Click Clone.

At this point, the project is now copied to your computer.

2. Install VS Code and extensions

1. Download and install Visual Studio Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/
2. Open VS Code.
3. Click the Extensions icon on the left sidebar.
4. Install these extensions:
   • Astro
   • MDX
   • Markdown All in One

3. The Terminal in VS Code

• VS Code provides access to the Terminal (Command Line) right within the application.
• On Mac, this project uses the zsh shell in the VS Code Terminal.
• In VS Code, open it from Terminal > New Terminal.
• It appears in the lower part of the window.
• Run every command in this guide there.

4. Open the cloned repo in VS Code

1. In VS Code, click File > Open Folder....
2. Select the geobtaa.github.io folder you cloned with GitHub Desktop.
3. Click Open.

5. Install project requirements

This project needs Node.js and its packages.

Step A: Install Node.js (one-time setup)

Recommended for this project:

1. Install Volta: https://volta.sh/
2. In the VS Code Terminal (zsh), run:

volta install node@24.13.1

Step B: Install project packages

In the VS Code Terminal (zsh) inside the geobtaa.github.io folder, run:

npm install

That installs all required project dependencies.

6. Run the project locally

When you are ready to run the site:

npm run dev

Then open http://localhost:4321 in your browser.