Requirements

Mac Users

In order to properly set up a local environment on a Mac, we recommend that your computer meets the following minimum requirements:

  • Operating system: macOS Sierra 10.12 or later
  • A user account that is part of the Admin Group. Go to “System Preferences… > Users & Groups” to confirm this.

Once you have confirmed that you meet the above requirements, you are ready to proceed to the next step.

Setting up a Local Environment for Mac Users

PC Users

If your PC can run Windows, in can run XAMPP (the software used to set up a local installation). However, we recommend that you only proceed with the local installation if you have at least 1GB of disk space available on your computer.

You will also need administrator permissions. If you aren’t sure whether you do, use the instructions here to check!

Once you have confirmed that you meet the above requirements, you are ready to proceed to the next step.

Setting up a Local Environment for PC Users

Linux Users

We’ve never had a participant specifically request this, so we don’t keep the tutorial component for this updated. If you are in this situation, you should be able to follow the instructions for PC but instead use the ‘XAMPP for Linux’ download. If you get stuck, please chat to one of our friendly mentors or shout out on Slack!

Tablets and ChromeOS Users

While it is possible to set up a local development environment on your device, it will be a lot more complicated and unless you are already running certain bits of software, you’ll likely find this a disappointing and painful exercise. We highly recommend that if you don’t have a standard laptop or desktop device handy, that you choose one of the other options (such as setting up a free account with VentraIP) instead.