python-starter

A quick configuration repo for python scripts for people getting started with python

Getting Started on Windows

1. Install Git for Windows

   • Download from git-scm.com
   • Follow the installation wizard with default settings

2. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/mkuelker/python-starter.git
   cd python-starter

3. Install Docker Desktop for Windows

   • Download from docker.com
   • Ensure WSL 2 backend is enabled during installation

4. Install Visual Studio Code

   • Download from code.visualstudio.com

5. Install the Dev Containers extension

   • Open VSCode
   • Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
   • Search for "Dev Containers" by Microsoft and install it

6. Open the project in a container

   • Open the cloned folder in VSCode
   • Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette
   • Type and select: Dev Containers: Reopen in Container

That's it! The container will automatically install all Python dependencies from requirements.txt.

Getting Started on Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

1. Install Git

   sudo apt update && sudo apt install git

2. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/mkuelker/python-starter.git
   cd python-starter

3. Install Docker

   curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
   sudo sh get-docker.sh
   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Note: Log out and back in for the docker group changes to take effect.

4. Install Visual Studio Code

   wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > packages.microsoft.gpg
   sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 packages.microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/
   echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list
   sudo apt update && sudo apt install code

5. Install the Dev Containers extension

   • Open VSCode: code
   • Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
   • Search for "Dev Containers" by Microsoft and install it

6. Open the project in a container

   • Open the cloned folder in VSCode: code python-starter
   • Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette
   • Type and select: Dev Containers: Reopen in Container

That's it! The container will automatically install all Python dependencies from requirements.txt.

Make It Your Own Repository

After cloning, you'll want to remove the existing git history and create your own repository:

# Remove the existing git history
rm -rf .git

# Initialize your own git repository
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

# Optional: Add your own remote repository
# git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo-name.git
# git push -u origin main

Alternative: Local Python Setup

If you prefer to work without Docker, you can set up Python locally:

Windows (Local Setup)

1. Install Python from python.org (3.8 or higher)
2. Install pip package manager (usually included with Python)
3. Create a virtual environment:

   python -m venv venv
   venv\Scripts\activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt

Linux (Local Setup)

1. Install Python and pip:

   sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv

2. Create a virtual environment:

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