Windows 11 Vibe Coding and AI Agent Environment Setup

This module prepares a Vibe Coding and AI Agent environment on a Windows 11 laptop. Install the ChatGPT desktop app first, then use the setup script for the developer tools. Finally, choose Chat, ChatGPT Work, or Codex for the appropriate verification task.

Learning Objectives

After this module, participants can:

• Set up a working Vibe Coding and AI Agent environment on a Windows 11 laptop.
• Choose Chat, ChatGPT Work, or Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app for the task at hand.
• Use VS Code with Codex CLI and the Codex extension to create, edit, and review code.
• Use uv and npm to manage Python and Node.js packages and project environments.
• Use the GitHub CLI (gh) to sign in to GitHub through the browser, then clone, push, and deploy to GitHub Pages.
• Use the checklist to verify the environment independently and troubleshoot common setup issues.

Prerequisites

Minimum Computer Requirements

This workshop keeps VS Code, Node.js, Python, a terminal, and browser sign-in pages open at the same time, so the laptop should meet at least the specs below. The "Recommended" column marks the threshold for a smoother experience.

8 GB of RAM is enough to complete every task, but 16 GB is noticeably smoother once VS Code, a browser, and several terminals are open at the same time. The disk-space estimate includes the toolchain plus each project's node_modules and Python packages.

Toolchain

The Windows 11 setup script and follow-up guide prepare these tools on the laptop:

Install Method 1: Manual Download and Installation

If the one-click install fails, or the laptop is restricted by school IT policy, install manually instead. Still try the winget command first; if winget isn't available, install from the official download pages.

You can install the VS Code extensions by searching in the Extensions panel, or run these commands one by one in a terminal:

code --install-extension ms-python.python
code --install-extension ms-toolsai.jupyter
code --install-extension eamodio.gitlens
code --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
code --install-extension openai.chatgpt

After a manual install, close and reopen the terminal too, then run the version checks:

code --version
git --version
node --version
npm --version
uv --version
gh --version
codex --version

Install Method 2: Install via an AI Agent Prompt (ChatGPT Work, Full Access)

Instead of running the batch file or installing manually, you can also open the ChatGPT desktop app and use a natural-language prompt so the agent checks what is missing on the laptop, installs it, and reports back.

⚠️ Full access lets the agent run terminal commands without asking for approval on each step. Switch back to Ask for approval once the install is finished.

Suggested steps:

• Open the ChatGPT desktop app, choose ChatGPT, then switch to Work.
• In the task settings, change the access level to Full access.
• Paste the prompt below and send it, and watch the output the whole time:

I'm on a Windows 11 laptop with administrator rights, and App Installer (winget) is already installed.
Please check and install the following developer tools, skipping anything already installed. After everything is installed, run the version-check commands and report the results back to me:

1. VS Code (winget id: Microsoft.VisualStudioCode)
2. Git for Windows (winget id: Git.Git)
3. Node.js LTS + npm (winget id: OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS)
4. uv (winget id: astral-sh.uv)
5. GitHub CLI (winget id: GitHub.cli)
6. Codex CLI (confirm Node.js is installed first, then run npm install -g "@openai/codex")
7. These VS Code extensions:
   - ms-python.python
   - ms-toolsai.jupyter
   - eamodio.gitlens
   - dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
   - openai.chatgpt

Rules:
- Before installing each tool, check whether it already exists (e.g. run "tool --version" or "winget list --id ..."); skip it if it's already installed, don't reinstall.
- When using winget, add --source winget --exact (for VS Code extensions, use code --install-extension instead).
- After everything is installed, open a new terminal window, run the following commands in order, and paste the results back to me:
  code --version
  git --version
  node --version
  npm --version
  uv --version
  gh --version
  codex --version
- If any install step fails, stop and tell me the error message; don't skip it or work around it another way.
- Don't install anything outside this list, and don't change system settings or user account permissions.

Once the agent finishes, compare its output against the Toolchain table above to confirm each command prints a version number. If a check fails, go back to "Install Method 1: Manual Download and Installation" to fix that tool individually.

Install Method 3: One-Click Setup with setup-windows.bat

Start with the supplied setup-windows.bat. It checks winget, then installs VS Code, Git, Node.js LTS, uv, GitHub CLI, the ChatGPT desktop app, Codex CLI, and common VS Code extensions. The script is safe to run again; installed items are skipped.

Suggested steps:

• Download setup-windows.bat, or move the file somewhere easy to find, such as Downloads.
• Double-click to run it, or run it in PowerShell:

& "$HOME\Downloads\setup-windows.bat"

• If using Command Prompt, run:

"%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\setup-windows.bat"

• After the script finishes, close and reopen PowerShell or Command Prompt so the PATH changes take effect.
• Run the following checks again to confirm the system can find each tool:

code --version
git --version
node --version
npm --version
uv --version
gh --version
codex --version

If the script prints winget not found, install or update Windows App Installer first, then run the batch file again.

Hands-on Activities

1. Set up ChatGPT Work and Codex

• Open the ChatGPT desktop app and sign in. Use Chat for quick questions; select ChatGPT, then Work for a multi-step, reviewable outcome; select Codex for a course project, code, commands, and diffs.
• In Codex, open only the intended course project folder. Before the first task, choose Ask for approval; do not enable Full access by default. Review approval requests, diffs, and output files.
• For a terminal workflow, run codex and sign in through the browser with the same ChatGPT account. The VS Code Codex extension can use that account too.
• If a later task needs browser automation, let the AI agent install and configure whatever tools it needs on its own; this module doesn't pre-install any browser automation add-ons.
• Run the guided "Hello, AI Agent" task (ask the agent to create a hello.txt file) to confirm the AI agent can receive instructions, produce a file, and report back.

2. Connect GitHub and Deploy GitHub Pages

• Run gh auth login and sign in entirely through the browser with a one-time code — no SSH keys or passwords typed into the terminal — which also sets up git credentials and your commit identity (user.name / user.email) in one step.
• Practice cloning a project with gh repo clone, and use gh repo create … --push together with GitHub Pages to publish a static site to a public URL.

3. Four Verification Tasks