Get ready

Follow these steps in order before the workshop. The recommended route uses a computer with a web browser and internet access. You do not need to install a code editor or use a phone.

A repository is a project's files and change history on GitHub. A fork is your own copy of someone else's repository. A Codespace is an online workspace where you can edit and run your copy.

1. Sign in to GitHub

  1. Open github.com in your browser.
  2. If you have an account, click Sign in and complete sign-in. If you do not, click Sign up, follow the account creation instructions, and verify your email address when GitHub asks.
  3. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner and note your username. You will use it to identify your own copy of the workshop.

Check: you can see your account's profile menu. Never share your password, sign-in codes, or access tokens with another participant.

2. Make your own copy of the workshop

  1. Open the workshop repository on GitHub. This is the source project, not the published workshop website.
  2. Near the top-right of the repository page, click Fork. If the button has a small arrow beside it, click the Fork label itself.
  3. On the Create a new fork page, set Owner to your own GitHub account, not a university or other organisation.
  4. Leave Repository name as day-in-a-students-life.
  5. Leave Copy the main branch only selected if that option appears. A branch is a version of the project; main is the starting version for this workshop.
  6. Click Create fork and wait for GitHub to open your copy.
  7. Check the name at the top-left of the repository page. It must start with your username, followed by / day-in-a-students-life, not codess-aus.
  8. Bookmark this page. Its address should be https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/day-in-a-students-life, with YOUR-USERNAME replaced by your actual username.

Check: you see your username as the owner and a file list containing docs, mkdocs.yml, and README.md. A message such as forked from codess-aus/day-in-a-students-life is expected.

This repository uses the Fork route. You do not need to find a Use this template button. If GitHub says you already have a fork, open the existing copy rather than creating another. If it contains earlier work, ask the facilitator before syncing or replacing anything.

Your fork of this public repository is also public. Only use the supplied fictional workshop material. Do not add personal information, passwords, private messages, or real assessment submissions.

3. Enable the task tracker in your copy

The first activity uses Issues, GitHub's task tracker. Issues may be turned off in a new fork.

  1. In your copy of the repository, look for the Issues tab above the files.
  2. If it is visible, open it. An empty list of issues is normal. Skip the next item and look for the New issue button.
  3. If it is missing, click Settings in the repository's tabs. Under General, scroll to Features and select the Issues checkbox. Return to the top of the page and open the Issues tab.
  4. Confirm that you can see a New issue button. You do not need to create an issue yet.

Check: your own repository has an Issues tab and a New issue button. If you cannot see Settings, check that the owner is your username. On a narrow screen, some repository tabs may be inside the ... menu.

4. Check GitHub Copilot access

  1. Open GitHub Copilot in your browser.
  2. Sign in with the same GitHub account if prompted.
  3. If chat is available, type Explain what a GitHub repository is in one sentence. and send the message.
  4. Confirm that you receive a reply. This checks chat access only; it does not mean Copilot can see your workshop files.
  5. If you see a setup, subscription, usage-limit, or access message instead, tell the facilitator before the session. Do not purchase a plan just to complete the workshop. You can pair with someone who has access.

Student verification and Copilot benefit activation are separate steps. If you intend to use student benefits, follow the student access instructions in advance; do not rely on same-day approval.

The GitHub Copilot desktop app and GitHub Mobile are optional clients, not prerequisites for this browser setup. GitHub Copilot is not the Microsoft Copilot app.

5. Open your online workspace

  1. Return to the bookmarked page for your copy of the repository.
  2. Click the green Code button above the file list.
  3. In the panel that opens, select the Codespaces tab.
  4. Click Create codespace on main. If a Codespace already exists for this workshop, click its name to reopen it instead.
  5. Wait for the browser-based editor to open and for its setup to finish. The first launch can take several minutes. This project's setup installs Python, Node.js, and the website's required packages for you.
  6. Look for the file explorer on the left. It should contain docs, mkdocs.yml, and package.json.
  7. Open the editor's Terminal menu, then select New Terminal. In the browser editor, the menu may be behind the three horizontal lines in the top-left corner. A terminal is the panel where you type commands.

Check: the editor shows the workshop files and a terminal with a prompt where you can type. Leave that terminal open.

If GitHub says Codespaces is unavailable, blocked by policy, or out of included usage, do not add payment details to proceed. Use the local fallback or ask the facilitator to pair you with another participant.

6. Start the website preview

  1. Click inside the terminal from step 5.

  2. Copy the following command, paste it into the terminal, and press Enter. Copy only the command, not the surrounding backticks.

    python -m mkdocs serve --dev-addr 0.0.0.0:8000

  3. Wait until the terminal says the site is being served. The command keeps running while you use the preview; that is normal. Do not close this terminal.

  4. If a notification offers Open in Browser, click it. Otherwise, click the Ports tab beside Terminal in the bottom panel, find port 8000, and use its Open in Browser globe icon. If Ports is hidden, open the editor's View > Command Palette, type Ports: Focus on Ports View, and select that command.
  5. In the Ports tab, confirm that port 8000 has visibility Private. Do not change it to public. Sign in with your GitHub account if the preview asks you to authenticate.
  6. In the preview website's navigation, choose Student survival hub, then Study planner. On a narrow screen, open the navigation menu first.
  7. Enter 30 in Available minutes and 3 in Number of tasks, then click Make my plan.

Check: the planner gives each task 10 minutes. You have now run the starter website without editing any code. This private preview is not a published GitHub Pages site; publishing happens in the final workshop scene.

If the terminal says No module named mkdocs, the package installation may not have finished. Wait for setup to complete. If it has finished and the error remains, run python -m pip install -r requirements.txt in the terminal, wait for it to finish successfully, and retry the preview command. For any other error, keep the message visible and show the facilitator.

7. Check the starter project

  1. Return to the editor tab. Keep the preview server running in its terminal.
  2. Choose Terminal > New Terminal again to open a second terminal.
  3. Run each of the following commands separately: paste one line, press Enter, and wait for it to finish before entering the next.
npm test
python -m mkdocs build --strict
python scripts/check_links.py

Check: the tests report no failures, the build finishes without errors, and the link checker says Generated site paths and fragments are valid. If a command fails, stop and show the facilitator the command and its error message before changing anything.

The npm run lab:debug command belongs to a later, deliberately failing exercise. Do not run it as a setup check. There are no npm packages to install.

8. Start the workshop

Keep the editor and preview tabs open. Go to Meet Alex, then follow the link to the first scene. You are ready when you have your own repository, an available Copilot client or partner, a working planner preview, and passing starter checks.

Local fallback (without Codespaces)

Use this route only if you cannot use Codespaces or prefer working on your own computer. You still need to complete steps 1 to 4 above.

Install the tools

  1. Install the current stable Git release for your operating system, following its installer instructions.
  2. Install a current stable Python 3 release, version 3.12 or newer. On Windows, enable Add Python to PATH if the installer offers it.
  3. Install the current LTS release of Node.js. The Node.js installation also provides the npm command.
  4. After installation, open a new terminal: Terminal on macOS, your Linux terminal app, or PowerShell from the Windows Start menu.
  5. Run git --version, node --version, and npm --version separately. Each should print a version number. Check Python with python3 --version on macOS/Linux or py -3 --version on Windows. If a command is not found, ask the facilitator to help finish that installation.

Download your copy

  1. Return to your repository in the browser. Click Code, select Local if shown, then HTTPS, and copy the clone URL using the copy icon.
  2. In your terminal, type git clone, including the space, paste the URL you just copied, and press Enter. This downloads your fork, not the original workshop repository. Wait for the command to finish.
  3. Run cd day-in-a-students-life to move into the downloaded project folder. If you chose a different repository name, use that folder name instead.
  4. Keep this terminal open. Run the commands for your operating system only from the next section, one line at a time.

Prepare Python and start the preview

On macOS or Linux:

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python -m mkdocs serve

On Windows PowerShell:

py -3 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python -m mkdocs serve

The .venv folder holds this project's Python packages separately from other projects. Activation makes this terminal use those packages. If activation or installation fails, ask the facilitator for help; do not bypass your computer's security policy.

  1. Open the address printed by MkDocs, normally http://127.0.0.1:8000/, in your browser. Keep the terminal running.
  2. Try the planner as described in step 6 above.
  3. Open a second terminal, move into the same project folder with cd day-in-a-students-life, and run the activation command for your operating system again. You do not need to recreate .venv or reinstall the packages.
  4. Run the three checks from step 7, one command at a time.
  5. Once they pass, continue to Meet Alex.

Optional: connect the GitHub Copilot desktop app

  1. Follow the official GitHub Copilot app instructions to install it if it is available for your account and computer.
  2. Sign in with the GitHub account that owns your workshop copy.
  3. Use the app's repository or folder picker to open your fork or its local checkout, not the original codess-aus repository.
  4. If the app offers Plan mode, select it. Send: Explain docs/project/brief.md and the repository's file structure. Do not change any files.
  5. Check that the reply refers to this workshop's files. If it cannot access them, attach the files or supply their text. Review proposed changes before allowing execution.

An app-local session and a Codespace are separate workspaces. To hand changes between them, commit and push on a branch, then fetch that branch in the other workspace. Avoid having two environments edit the same branch at the same time. Do not assume uncommitted changes or chat history transfer automatically.

Access and cost checkpoints

Surface Check before the workshop Fallback
Copilot app Installation, sign-in, permissions, and remaining usage Pair with a participant or watch the facilitator
Copilot on GitHub.com Repository context and available chat features Supply relevant file text to an available Copilot client
GitHub Mobile Sign-in and available Copilot features GitHub.com in a browser
Codespaces Availability, quota, and institutional policy Local workspace or paired participation
Cloud-session handoff Supported cloud environment and account entitlement Review an issue or pull request on Mobile instead
GitHub Pages Repository permissions, Pages availability, Actions enabled Facilitator deployment or local preview

Capabilities, account policies, and usage allowances can change. The workshop does not require a paid model, parallel agents, or cloud-session continuity. Do not purchase a plan just to complete an exercise.

Official references:

Safe working agreement

Use the supplied fictional information. Do not upload student records, private messages, unpublished assessments, or copyrighted course readings without permission. Follow your institution's AI and assessment rules.

Copilot can be wrong. Check calculations, links, citations, and generated code. Never treat a confident answer or passing build as proof of correctness. Record assistance and verification in your contribution.

When you finish

  1. In the terminal running the preview, press Ctrl+C to stop the server.
  2. If you used Codespaces, open your Codespaces dashboard.
  3. Find the Codespace for your workshop repository, open its ... menu, and select Stop codespace. Confirm that it is no longer running.
  4. Do not delete the Codespace if it contains work you have not saved back to GitHub. Stopping it preserves the workspace; storage allowance may still apply.

Closing the browser tab is not the same as stopping the Codespace.