3  Tool Setup

This chapter provides a step-by-step recipe for installing and configuring all tools required for building course materials with Quarto, managing content with GitHub, and integrating outputs into Blackboard Ultra.

While GitHub is strongly recommended for version control and long-term course management, users who prefer to work entirely on local machines or cloud-synced drives (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud Drive) may skip the repository creation steps and proceed directly to Chapter 3.

However, the GitHub-based workflow—especially when paired with Antigravity or VS Code—is highly preferred for reproducibility, collaboration, and maintaining a clean version history of your teaching materials.

This recipe assumes no prior experience. Each step includes instructions and verification checks.

3.1 Install Git

Git is the version control system used throughout the recommended workflow. You can choose the platform from the installation on the Git website.

Figure 3.1: Installing Git

  1. Install Git using your operating system:

    1. macOS:
    brew install git
    1. Windows: Download
    2. Linux:
    sudo apt update && sudo apt install git -y

  2. Verify installation:

    git --version

3.2 Install GitHub CLI

GitHub CLI (gh) enables authentication and repository operations directly from the terminal. Download and install from: GitHub CLI

3.3 Create a GitHub Account

A GitHub account stores repositories, manages version history, and integrates directly with Antigravity or VS Code.

  1. Visit GitHub
Figure 3.2: GitHub Signup Page
  1. Create an account
Figure 3.3: GitHub Signup Page
  1. Choose a professional username
Figure 3.4: GitHub Signup Page

3.4 Create Your GitHub Pages Repository

(Optional for users who plan to work only on local/cloud drives)

This step creates your personal website: https://yourusername.github.io

If you prefer to work without GitHub, skip to Chapter 3. However, the GitHub-based workflow is strongly recommended.

  1. Go to https://github.com/new, or click on the + icon in the top-right corner of your GitHub dashboard shown in Figure 3.5.
  2. Set repository name:
    1. yourusername.github.io creates your personal website repository
    2. For a course repository, use coursenumber-coursename (e.g. AD688-big-data-and-cloud-computing)
    yourusername.github.io
  3. Select Private, since we want this to be available for instructors only.
  4. Add README and .gitignore, you can choose the template to be python or r to avoid syncing the virtual environments to the git repo.
  5. Create repository
Figure 3.5: Create GitHub Repo
Figure 3.6: Create GitHub Repo

3.4.1 Configure Git Identity and SSH Keys

(Required only if using GitHub workflow)

3.4.2 Configure identity

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

3.4.3 Generate an SSH key

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

3.5 Add the public key to GitHub

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Add it to https://github.com/settings/keys

3.6 Test authentication

ssh -T git@github.com
Figure 3.7: SSH Key Added

4 Clone Your GitHub Pages Repository

(Skip this step if not using GitHub)

4.1 Instructions

Clone repository:

git clone git@github.com:yourusername/yourusername.github.io.git
cd yourusername.github.io

Create a sample file:

echo "Welcome to my GitHub Pages site." >> index.md

Stage and commit:

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

Push:

git push origin main

Pull:

git pull

5 Install Quarto

Quarto is the publishing framework used in this book.

5.1 Instructions

Download from: https://quarto.org/docs/download/

Verify:

quarto --version

6 Install Pandoc

Pandoc is required for document format conversion.

6.1 Instructions

  • macOS:

    brew install pandoc

  • Linux:

    sudo apt install pandoc -y

Windows installer already includes Pandoc.

7 Install Graphviz

Graphviz supports diagrams and visual structures.

7.1 Instructions

Figure 7.1: Graphviz Installation

8 Install Python 3.12 or higher

8.1 Instructions

Download from: https://www.python.org/downloads/

Select “Add Python to PATH” during installation.

8.2 Verification

python3 --version

Complete Guide for Python Installation is here

9 Install R and RTools

9.1 Instructions

Install R: https://cran.r-project.org/

Windows users install RTools: https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/Rtools/

10 Install VS Code, Antigravity, or Cursor

You can use any of the following editors for this workflow:

  • VS Code for the broadest extension ecosystem
  • Antigravity for a VS Code-style environment with built-in agent workflows
  • Cursor for editor-native AI coding assistance

All three work well for Quarto, Python, GitHub, and notebook-based teaching materials.

Antigravity is a strong option for this workflow because it integrates:

  • GitHub
  • Jupyter
  • Python
  • Quarto
  • Remote development
  • AI agents
  • Extension ecosystem

In case you are using local/cloud drive, you can also use any other IDE that you are comfortable with.

10.1 Instructions

Download: https://antigravity.google/

Sign in with Google or GitHub.

11 Connect AI Coding Tools

Once your editor is installed, connect the AI tools you plan to use for course development:

  • GitHub Copilot for inline completions, chat, and code explanations inside the editor
  • ChatGPT-connected coding tools in VS Code or Antigravity when you want help drafting scripts, debugging, or restructuring Quarto content
  • Cursor if you prefer an AI-first editing environment for project-wide code generation and refactoring
  • Gemini APIs when you want to automate metadata generation, text transformation, or structured content workflows from scripts

For classroom use, these tools are most helpful for boilerplate generation, formatting, debugging, and rapid prototyping. Final instructional content should still be reviewed by the instructor before release.

12 Install Required Editor Extensions

The following extension groups should be installed for the Quarto workflow:

Figure 12.1: VSCode/Antigravity Extensions Installed

13 Create Python and R Environments (Optional)

13.1 Python virtual environment

python3 -m venv .venv

Activate:

macOS/Linux:

source .venv/bin/activate

Windows:

.venv\Scripts\activate

Install packages:

pip install numpy pandas jupyter matplotlib quarto

13.2 R environment using renv

#| eval: false
#| echo: true
install.packages("renv")
renv::init()
install.packages(c("tidyverse", "knitr", "rmarkdown"))
renv::snapshot()

14 Verification Checklist

Check that each core tool is installed:

Lets check for the installed tools on command lines:

git --version
python3 --version
pip --version
jupyter --version
java -version
scala -version
spark-shell --version
poetry --version
quarto check

15 Next Steps

If you chose not to create a GitHub repository, proceed directly to Chapter 3, where you will learn the authoring fundamentals of Markdown, LaTeX, and Quarto.

If you completed the GitHub setup, you now have a fully configured development environment ready for:

  • Authoring (Chapter 3)
  • Building Quarto websites (Chapter 4)
  • Connecting content to Blackboard Ultra (Chapters 5–6)