Dev Setup
Environment variables, dotfiles, editors, and tools that make you fast.
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Terminal commands for everyday development
The handful of terminal commands you actually use day to day, plus paths and flags, without the become-a-Linux-wizard detour.
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Set up VS Code for a project
Setting up VS Code for real projects: the extensions worth installing, format on save, and why user settings and workspace settings are different.
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Package managers and lockfiles
What npm, pnpm, and Yarn actually do, the role of package.json and lockfiles, npm install versus npm ci, and why deleting a lockfile is goblin behavior.
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Manage Node.js versions
Why the Node.js version matters, how to check and pin it with .nvmrc, engines, nvm, fnm, or Volta, and the bugs a mismatch causes.
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Environment variables explained
Learn what environment variables are, where they live, how to use them safely, and how not to accidentally leak your secrets.
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Automate commands with project scripts
The scripts block in package.json, the standard scripts every project should have, and running frontend and backend together.
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Set up ESLint and Prettier
The difference between a linter and a formatter, why ESLint and Prettier sometimes fight, format on save, project config, and running them in CI.
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Set up logs and breakpoints
Debugging as a process, not a panic ritual: logs, devtools, the Network tab, stack traces, breakpoints, VS Code launch configs, and a checklist.
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Run a database locally
Why real apps need a local database, how to run Postgres and Redis with Docker Compose, connection strings, seeds, migrations, resets, and the bugs in between.
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Save your setup with dotfiles
The dot-prefixed config files that keep a project consistent across machines: which to commit, which to keep local, and how they stop projects from rotting.
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