Setup and quick reference
AI Coding Workspace Bootstrap
Prepare a version-controlled workspace for an AI coding assistant without mixing credentials, generated files, or unrelated changes into the task.
- Format
- How To
- Level
- Beginner
- Audience
- Learner, Developer, Operator
- Owner
- Project42 Editorial
- Review cadence
- Every 60 days
- Prerequisites
- A supported operating system and terminal; Permission to install or use the selected tools; A repository or an empty directory intended for version control
Establish a clean, supported baseline
Install Git using the current instructions for the actual operating system, then confirm the executable, version, identity settings, and repository root. Install an AI coding tool only from its publisher's documented channel and check its current platform and runtime requirements instead of copying a version number from an old guide.
Keep repositories in an intentional workspace path. Read the repository instructions before starting, inspect the branch and worktree, and identify generated directories, secret files, deployment targets, and paths that are out of scope.
Create the task boundary before the agent changes files
Give the agent one observable outcome, explicit writable paths, allowed tools and network access, required checks, stop conditions, and a recovery point. Authentication proves identity; it does not grant permission to change every file or external system the tool can reach.
Do not paste secrets into prompts, source files, examples, logs, or commits. Use the product's supported credential mechanism and keep local secret files ignored. Review new dependencies, commands, and files rather than accepting silent expansion of the task.
Task: [ONE OBSERVABLE OUTCOME]
Scope: [REPOSITORY, BRANCH, AND WRITABLE PATHS]
Permissions: [READ, WRITE, COMMAND, NETWORK, AND EXTERNAL-SYSTEM LIMITS]
Baseline: [GIT ROOT, BRANCH, STATUS, TOOL SOURCE, AND RUNTIME CHECK]
Protected data: [SECRET FILES, PERSONAL DATA, AND EXCLUDED PATHS]
Expected changes: [FILES OR BEHAVIOR]
Stop conditions: [SCOPE CONFLICT, SECRET REQUEST, UNKNOWN SIDE EFFECT, OR FAILED INVARIANT]
Verification: [DIFF REVIEW, TESTS, AND USER-BOUNDARY RESULT]
Recovery: [CHECKPOINT, FILE RESTORE, DEPENDENCY ROLLBACK, AND EVIDENCE TO KEEP]Expected evidence and verification
Expected evidence includes the tool's official installation source, supported-environment check, repository root, initial branch and worktree status, applicable instruction files, protected paths, task card, and a secret-safe verification log. Verify with a read-only orientation pass before allowing edits.
After the task, inspect the complete diff and untracked files, run the repository's documented checks, and test the observable result. If setup modified the wrong profile, repository, dependency set, or credential path, stop the tool, preserve useful diagnostics, restore only the affected configuration from the recorded baseline, and verify the clean state before retrying.