Module 0: Environment Setup

1. The Terminal (Shell)

macOS:

You are already on Unix. Install iTerm2 for a better experience than the default Terminal.

brew install --cask iterm2
# Install Oh My Zsh for better prompts
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Windows:

WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux) is mandatory. Do not try to do DevOps with PowerShell alone.

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
2. Run: wsl --install
3. Restart your computer.
4. Open "Ubuntu" from your Start menu and create a user.
5. Use "Windows Terminal" to access your Ubuntu shell.

2. Container Runtime (Docker)

You need to build and run containers locally.

• Docker Desktop: The standard choice. Easy to install but requires a license for large companies.
• OrbStack (macOS only): Faster, lighter alternative to Docker Desktop. Highly recommended for Mac users.

# macOS (OrbStack)
brew install --cask orbstack

# Windows
# Install Docker Desktop and enable "WSL 2 Integration" in settings.

3. Essential CLIs

Install these tools to manage infrastructure.

# macOS (Homebrew) / Linux (apt/yum)

# AWS CLI (Cloud management)
brew install awscli

# Terraform (Infrastructure as Code)
brew install terraform

# Kubectl (Kubernetes control)
brew install kubectl

# Git (Version Control) - Ensure you have it!
git --version

4. VS Code Extensions

Equip your editor with syntax highlighting for config files.

• Docker (Microsoft)
• Kubernetes (Microsoft)
• HashiCorp Terraform
• YAML (Red Hat) - Crucial for K8s/Ansible files.
• WSL (Microsoft) - Windows users only, lets you edit files inside Linux from Windows.