Complete your development environment setup

This course uses CursorAI Pro as your primary IDE, Git + GitHub for version control, CrewAI for multi‑agent orchestration, and the AAMAD framework for context engineering and AI‑assisted development workflows.

Prerequisites

• Accounts:

  • CursorAI Pro,
  • GitHub,
  • an LLM provider (OpenAI or compatible),
  • and optional Serper.dev for web search tools used in examples.

• Local runtime:

  • Python 3.10+ and a terminal/shell;
  • Cursor supports macOS, Windows, and Linux.

• Recommended:

  • Perplexity Pro for deep research in Define, or any capable LLM tool
  • AWS account for deployment later in the course
  • basic Git familiarity for pushing to remote repositories

Step‑by‑step guideline

1 - Install CursorAI Pro

• Download and install Cursor for your OS, sign in, and activate Pro to unlock coding agents and rules.
• Sanity‑check: open a folder, use the command palette, and view model settings in Cursor.
• Optional video: How To Use Cursor AI (Full Tutorial For Beginners 2025) Video Tutorial

2 - Configure Git and GitHub

• Install Git, create a new GitHub repository for your capstone, and copy the repo URL (SSH or HTTPS).
• In your project folder: git init, git remote add origin <repo‑url>, commit a README, and push to main to confirm connectivity.
• Optional video: Git & GitHub Crash Course 2025 Video Tutorial

3 - Verify Python (defer CrewAI until use case selected)

• Confirm python3 --version shows 3.10+ to satisfy CrewAI requirements; no CLI install yet.
• Rationale: the CLI scaffold and .env keys depend on the selected use case and will be set up immediately after Define to avoid rework.

4 - Install CrewAI

• Install CrewAI CLI and uv workflow per Quickstart/CLI docs; scaffold the project with the create command matching your PRD.
• Add API keys in a local .env and keep it in .gitignore; configure providers as shown in the quickstart.
• Install dependencies via the CLI and run the sample crew to generate report.md as an end‑to‑end check before coding features.
• Optional video: Getting Started with CrewAI Open Source Video Overview

5 - Bring in AAMAD

• Copy AAMAD personas, rules, and templates into .cursor and docs, then select the active rules profile in Cursor to guide Define → Build → Deliver rituals.
• Source repository: AAMAD GitHub Repo (clone or download for templates and rule sets)

6 - Sanity checks in Cursor

• Open the repo in Cursor, confirm models are available and rules are active, then start an inline AI coding session on local files.
• Invoke the @project.mgr and ask what he/she can do.

What you should have now

• A Cursor workspace connected to a GitHub repo, with Python verified and project governance ready;

  • CrewAI scaffolding and .env will be added right after the use case decision.

• AAMAD rules ready to apply once imported, supporting consistent agentic development throughout Define → Build → Deliver.

Next step

• Complete this project by sending a message to the team indicating you are READY TO START!

Q&A

• Do I need CursorAI Pro, or will the free tier work? Pro is required in this course to use advanced coding agents and rules that integrate with AAMAD and streamline multi‑agent workflows in Cursor.
• Which Python version should I install? Use Python 3.10 or newer to match CrewAI’s quickstart and avoid runtime issues when running crews locally.
• Where do API keys go, and should I commit them? Place keys in a local .env file at the project root and keep .env listed in .gitignore so secrets never get pushed to GitHub.
• I pushed my first commit, but GitHub shows an empty repo—what happened? Ensure you added a remote, committed files, and ran a push to the correct default branch (often main) from Cursor’s terminal or your shell.
• Cursor doesn’t seem to “follow” my development rules—how do I enable AAMAD rules? Copy AAMAD rules/personas into your project’s .cursor directory and set the active rule profile in Cursor so the IDE applies them to completions and agents.
• Can I use providers other than OpenAI? Yes—configure any supported provider in your .env and CrewAI config; the quickstart shows environment variable patterns for multiple providers.
• Do I need GitHub before the capstone? Yes—every module assumes a repo exists so you can version PRDs, architecture, code, and CI/CD from the start, culminating in the capstone publish step

Don't forget to:

Include any links

Get specific with your feedback requests

Post to 💪 channel

This way you can give and receive feedback on your project