Setup

Everything you need installed across the eight sessions

This page is the master install checklist for the course. The sections below are roughly in the order you will need them. Use the dated boxes at the top of each section to know how far ahead you must complete it.

Overview

Tool Needed by
Git, R, RStudio, VS Code, wooldridge Session 4 (Apr 20)
GitHub account, SSH keys Session 5 (Apr 22)
Claude account at claude.com Session 6 (Apr 27)
Cowork desktop app Session 7 (Apr 29)
Claude Code CLI Session 8 (May 4)

The numbered sections below walk through each tool in turn. Each one notes which sessions it is used in and how to verify the install worked.

1. Git

Needed for sessions 4 to 8.

  • Mac: brew install git if you have Homebrew. Otherwise download from git-scm.com.
  • Windows: download the installer from git-scm.com. Git Bash is installed alongside.
  • Linux: use your distribution’s package manager.

Verify the install in a terminal:

git --version

You should see something like git version 2.39.0.

NoteWhat is Homebrew?

Homebrew is the standard macOS package manager. Think of it as an app store for command-line tools. If you do not already have it, run the one-line install command from brew.sh. If you prefer to skip Homebrew, use the direct download from git-scm.com instead.

2. A terminal

Needed for sessions 4 to 8.

  • Mac: open the Terminal app (search for “Terminal” in Spotlight).
  • Windows: open Git Bash (installed with Git in step 1).
  • Linux: any terminal emulator your distribution ships with.

We type Git commands and run shell scripts here. There is nothing to install beyond what step 1 already gave you.

3. R

Needed for sessions 4 to 8.

R is the engine for every code example on this site. Free and open source.

  • Download the installer for your platform from cran.r-project.org.
  • Install with the default options.

4. RStudio

Recommended for sessions 4 to 5.

RStudio is the standard IDE for applied economics research in R. If you already use it for coursework, you are set. Otherwise, download the desktop app from posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop.

5. The wooldridge R package

Needed for sessions 4 to 5.

This package gives you the classic datasets from Jeffrey Wooldridge’s Introductory Econometrics textbook (wage1, wage2, and many others) that we use in exercises. In R or RStudio, run:

install.packages("wooldridge")

6. VS Code

Recommended for sessions 6 to 8 (and useful from session 4 onward).

VS Code is a general-purpose code editor that has become the most widely used tool in software and data work. Sessions 6 to 8 assume you have it available alongside the AI tools.

I encourage you to install all three editors (R, RStudio, VS Code). R is the engine. RStudio is ideal for R-centric work. VS Code is ideal for everything else: Python, shell scripts, LaTeX, Quarto, Markdown, configuration files, and AI coding assistants.

7. GitHub account

Needed for session 5 onward.

  • Create a free account at github.com.
  • Use an email address you plan to keep after graduation. You can later mark it as private in GitHub settings.

8. Tell Git who you are

Needed for session 5 onward. Do this once on your machine.

In a terminal:

git config --global user.name "Your Full Name"
git config --global user.email "you@cornell.edu"
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

Use the same email here as the one on your GitHub account, or use the noreply address GitHub provides under Settings -> Emails -> Keep my email addresses private.

9. Connect VS Code (or your terminal) to GitHub

Needed for session 5 onward.

You have two ways to authenticate when you push and pull. Pick one.

SSH keys (recommended for long-term work). Generate a key, add it to your GitHub account, and you will not be prompted for a password again. We will walk through this in Session 5. The official guide is GitHub’s SSH key documentation.

HTTPS plus the GitHub CLI. Install the GitHub CLI, then run gh auth login once. This caches credentials for future pushes. Easier on Windows.

VS Code: install the GitHub Pull Requests extension if you want to manage PRs from inside the editor. Optional.

10. Claude account (claude.com)

Needed for sessions 6 to 8.

  • Create a free account at claude.com.
  • The browser interface at claude.ai is what we use in session 6.
  • The same account works for the Cowork desktop app (session 7) and Claude Code (session 8). The free tier is enough for the in-class exercises.

11. Cowork desktop app

Needed for session 7.

Cowork is the Claude desktop app with the Cowork mode feature enabled. It can see a folder on your machine and run code in a sandboxed shell.

  • Download the desktop app from claude.com/download.
  • Sign in with your Claude account.
  • Open the app’s settings and confirm Cowork mode is available.

Bring any install issues to the first ten minutes of session 7; that time is reserved for troubleshooting.

12. Claude Code

Needed for session 8.

Claude Code is a code-native agent that runs in your terminal inside a git project. As of late 2025, Anthropic ships a native installer that bundles everything into a single binary. No Node.js or npm required.

Install Claude Code (recommended). One command in a terminal:

  • Mac/Linux: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
  • Windows (PowerShell): irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Verify the install:

claude --version

The first time you run claude, it opens a browser window to log you in with your Claude account.

To update Claude Code later, run claude update from any terminal. It pulls the latest version regardless of how you installed it.

NoteAlready have Node.js? The npm path still works.

If you already have Node.js installed for other reasons, npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code still works. Anthropic now recommends the native installer above as the default.

For platform-specific notes and troubleshooting, see the official guide: docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/setup.

13. R packages for the AI sessions

Needed for session 8.

In R or RStudio, run once before session 8:

install.packages(c("tidyverse", "rvest", "readr", "ellmer"))

ellmer is recent and unlikely to be already installed. The others may already be there from sessions 4 to 5.

Troubleshooting

Class time is short. The first ten minutes of any session can absorb install issues, but only if you flag them on arrival. If you are stuck before class, email me with: the exact command you ran, the exact error message, and your operating system.