Antidisciplinary Project Studio I

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Setup Guide

Get your development environment ready for APS-I — from zero to running simulations in your browser.

VS Code with Claude Code and T0-A simulation running in the browser

What You'll Set Up

By the end of this guide you will have:

No prior coding or terminal experience is required. Each step includes exactly what to click, type, and expect.

1 Install VS Code

VS Code (Visual Studio Code) is a free code editor. We use it because it has a built-in terminal where you can run Claude Code.

  1. Go to code.visualstudio.com
  2. Download the installer for your operating system (macOS, Windows, or Linux)
  3. Run the installer and follow the prompts
  4. Open VS Code when the installation is complete
Already have VS Code? Make sure it's up to date — open VS Code, click Code > Check for Updates (macOS) or Help > Check for Updates (Windows/Linux).
2 Open the Terminal in VS Code

The terminal is a text-based interface where you type commands. VS Code has one built in.

  1. In VS Code, go to the menu bar and click Terminal > New Terminal
  2. A panel will appear at the bottom of the window — this is your terminal

You can also use the keyboard shortcut:

Press:  Control + ` (backtick — the key below Escape)
Press:  Ctrl + ` (backtick — the key below Escape)

You should see a blinking cursor. This is where you'll type all the commands in the following steps.

What's a terminal? Think of it as a chat interface for your computer. You type a command, press Enter, and the computer responds with text. Everything Claude Code does happens through the terminal.
3 Install Claude Code

Claude Code is the AI assistant you'll use throughout this course. Follow the official quickstart guide to install it:

code.claude.com/docs/en/quickstart

The quickstart will walk you through installation and authentication. When you're done, verify it works by typing this in your terminal:

$ claude

You should see Claude Code start up and display a prompt where you can type a message.

Account problems? If you can't access your account or the authentication step fails, email claude@chibatech.dev and we'll get it sorted out.
4 Download the T0-A Module

Course modules are downloaded from the course page. Let's grab the first one to test your setup.

  1. Go to the Course Modules page
  2. Click the T0-A card
  3. Enter the download password: sunfish-42
  4. A .zip file will download
  5. Find the zip file (usually in your Downloads folder) and extract it — you should get a folder called t0-a
5 Open the Module Folder in VS Code

Now open the extracted folder in VS Code so Claude Code can see the project files.

  1. In VS Code, click File > Open Folder
  2. Navigate to the t0-a folder you extracted and select it
  3. Click Open

You should see the project files listed in the sidebar on the left (files like index.html, a js/ folder, etc.).

6 Start a Local Server

The simulations run in your browser, but they need a local web server to load properly. Open a new terminal in VS Code (Terminal > New Terminal) and type:

$ python3 -m http.server 8000

You should see output like:

Serving HTTP on :: port 8000 (http://[::]:8000/) ...

This means the server is running. Keep this terminal open — closing it will stop the server.

Command not found? If python3 isn't recognized, you may need to install Python first.

macOS: Open Terminal and run xcode-select --install — this installs Python along with other developer tools. Alternatively, download from python.org.

Windows: Download and install from python.org. During installation, check the box that says "Add Python to PATH". After installing, close and reopen VS Code, then try the command again.
7 View the Simulation in Your Browser

With the server running, open your web browser (Chrome or Firefox recommended) and go to:

http://localhost:8000/src/t0-a/

You should see the T0-A interactive world model — a 3D terrain that you can rotate and explore.

Success! If you can see the simulation, your environment is fully set up. You're ready for class.
8 Start Claude Code in Your Project

Now let's make sure Claude Code can see your project. Open a second terminal in VS Code (click the + icon in the terminal panel) and type:

$ claude

Claude Code will start up inside your project folder. Try asking it something like:

> What files are in this project?

Claude should list the project files and describe what they do. This is your AI teaching assistant for the course — you'll use it to explore simulations, ask questions about code, and work through assignments.

Pre-Class Checklist

Before our first session, confirm that you can do all of the following:

Troubleshooting

"Address already in use" when starting the server

This means port 8000 is already taken. Either stop the other server or use a different port:

$ python3 -m http.server 8080

Then visit http://localhost:8080 instead.

The simulation page is blank or shows errors

Make sure you're accessing the page through the local server (http://localhost:8000/src/t0-a/), not by opening the HTML file directly. Opening the file directly (via file://) will block the JavaScript modules from loading.

Claude Code won't authenticate

Email claude@chibatech.dev with a description of the error you're seeing.

Other issues

Bring your laptop to the first class and we'll help you troubleshoot in person.