Prerequisites & Setup for Workshop
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Prerequisites & Setup

Your Mission: Meet ByteStrike

Welcome! In this workshop, you'll learn AI-assisted development by helping ByteStrike, a tech-savvy operative for the secret tech agency known as "The League."

ByteStrike has just been assigned their first mission: Fetch encrypted blueprints from a remote server and extract critical secrets hidden between {* and *} markers. The only problem? ByteStrike needs to write code to do it in multiple languages, under pressure, with questions about how to do it right in production.

Over this workshop, you'll help ByteStrike:

  1. Learn how to write code with AI assistance (Parts 1-3)
  2. Ask questions and iterate using Chat vs. Agent modes (Part 4)
  3. Add guardrails for security, privacy, and correctness (Part 5)
  4. Deploy safely with governance, testing, and enterprise workflows (Part 6)

By the end, you'll have built a production-ready system that teaches architecture with governance, privacy, security, and enterprise best practices, all through the lens of ByteStrike's mission.

Setup: Get Ready for the Workshop

This quick-start helps you prepare your development environment. It assumes you have nothing installed. If you already have a GitHub Enterprise/Business subscription, use it for Copilot (best experience); otherwise use the free tier or trial. Students: claim GitHub Student benefits for Copilot access.

1. GitHub Account (Free)

If you don't already have a GitHub account:

If you have an Enterprise or Business account: Sign in with your organization account to access Copilot through your company subscription (recommended for the best experience).

If you're a student: Visit education.github.com/pack, apply with your school email or student ID, and enable GitHub Copilot once approved. This gives you free access to Copilot Pro!

2. Enable GitHub Copilot

Once you have a GitHub account:

About GitHub Copilot Subscriptions:

3. Recommended: Use GitHub Codespaces 🚀

Why Codespaces? It's the fastest way to get started: no local installations required!

Benefits of Codespaces:

How to Start a Codespace:

  1. Fork the repository first: Go to github.com/codess-aus/ByteStrike and click the Fork button (top-right corner). This creates your own copy where you can save your work!
  2. On your forked repository, click the green Code button Green Code button location
  3. Switch to the Codespaces tab
  4. Click "Create codespace on main" Create codespace dialog
  5. The creation of the codespace will take several minutes, although it's still far quicker than having to manually install all the services. Grab a coffee and relax while GitHub sets everything up! (First time setup only)
  6. Start coding! VS Code in the browser opens automatically with Copilot ready

💡 Pro Tips:

4. Alternative: VS Code Desktop Setup

If you prefer working locally instead of using Codespaces:

Install VS Code:

Sign in to GitHub:

Install Required Extensions:

Search for these in the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X on Mac) and click Install.

5. Language Runtimes (Local Setup Only)

Skip this if you're using Codespaces! Codespaces has everything pre-installed.

Python

JavaScript/TypeScript (Node.js)

C# (.NET)

6. Clone the Repository (Local Setup Only)

Skip this if you're using Codespaces! The repo is already available in your Codespace.

Important: Fork the repository first so you can save your work!

  1. Go to github.com/codess-aus/ByteStrike
  2. Click the Fork button (top-right corner)
  3. Clone your forked repository (replace YOUR-USERNAME with your GitHub username):
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/ByteStrike.git
cd ByteStrike
code .

7. Quick Test: Is Everything Working?

Before starting Lab 1, verify your setup:

Test Copilot:

Try Copilot in your preferred language:

  1. Open VS Code (in Codespace or locally)
  2. Create a new file: test.py
  3. Type: # Write a function that adds two numbers
  4. Press Enter and wait for Copilot to suggest code (appears in gray text)
  5. Press Tab to accept the suggestion
  1. Open VS Code (in Codespace or locally)
  2. Create a new file: test.js
  3. Type: // Write a function that adds two numbers
  4. Press Enter and wait for Copilot to suggest code (appears in gray text)
  5. Press Tab to accept the suggestion
  1. Open VS Code (in Codespace or locally)
  2. Create a new file: Test.cs
  3. Type: // Write a method that adds two numbers
  4. Press Enter and wait for Copilot to suggest code (appears in gray text)
  5. Press Tab to accept the suggestion

If you see gray suggestions appear, you're ready to go!

Test Language Runtimes:

# Python
python --version

# JavaScript
node --version

# C#
dotnet --version

All commands should return version numbers without errors.

8. Workshop Materials

All labs and tasks are in the posts/ directory of the repository. Each part includes:

9. Troubleshooting

Copilot not suggesting code?

Codespace build stuck?

Missing language runtimes locally?

Ready to Start!

Once your environment is set up, proceed to Part 1: Welcome & AI-Assisted Development Landscape to begin the workshop.

🎓 Pro Tips for Success: