# Introduction to Tools

In this chapter you set up your Windows computer for the bootcamp and meet the tools you will use every day: Windows Terminal and Git Bash, Git and GitHub, VS Code, Visual Studio, and SQL Server. The Setup exercises install everything, one tool at a time, and finish with a check that it all works together.

Updated: November 3, 2026

## [Windows Setup for C#](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/csharp-full-stack-bootcamp/topics/windows-setup-for-csharp)

1. [Windows Setup for C#: an overview](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/csharp-setup-an-overview) (Novice): Meet the Windows tools a C# developer uses every day, and the order in which you will install them.
2. [Using File Explorer](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-using-file-explorer) (Novice): Navigate Windows folders, show file extensions and hidden files, and read a folder's path two ways.
3. [Windows Terminal and Git Bash](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-terminal-and-git-bash) (Novice): A terminal is the window you type in and a shell is the program that runs your commands, and the bootcamp uses the Git Bash shell inside Windows Terminal.
4. [Git](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-git) (Novice): Git keeps a history of your code, so you can go back to an earlier version, and on Windows it comes as Git for Windows, with Git Bash to type its commands in.
5. [GitHub](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-github) (Novice): GitHub keeps your Git repositories online, where you back up your work, get practice code and share it, and Git Credential Manager signs you in to it from Git Bash.
6. [winget](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-winget) (Novice): winget, the Windows Package Manager, installs and updates software with one typed command.
7. [Setup: Windows Terminal and winget](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-setup-windows-terminal-and-winget) (Novice): Check that Windows Terminal and winget are ready, so you can install every other bootcamp tool.
8. [Setup: Install VS Code](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-setup-vs-code) (Novice): Install Visual Studio Code with winget, then open it, a file, or a whole folder from the terminal.
9. [Setup: Install Git, Git Bash, and connect to GitHub](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-setup-git-and-github) (Novice): Install Git for Windows, make Git Bash your terminal, create a GitHub account, and tell Git who you are.
10. [Setup: Install the .NET 10 SDK](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/csharp-setup-dotnet-sdk) (Novice): Install the .NET 10 SDK with winget, and check from Git Bash that the dotnet command works.
11. [Setup: Install Visual Studio 2026](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/csharp-setup-visual-studio) (Novice): Install Visual Studio 2026 Community with the two workloads this course uses, and open it for the first time.
12. [Setup: Install SQL Server 2025 and SSMS](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/csharp-setup-sql-server) (Novice): Install SQL Server 2025 Developer and SQL Server Management Studio 22, and connect to your server with Windows authentication.
13. [Setup: Install Node.js](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/os-and-terminal-tools-windows-setup-nodejs) (Novice): Install the long-term support version of Node.js and npm, which you will use for JavaScript and front-end frameworks.
14. [Setup: Verify your setup](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/csharp-setup-verify) (Novice): Check every tool, then write a C# program, commit it with Git, push it to GitHub, and run a query in SQL Server.

## [Development Tools](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/csharp-full-stack-bootcamp/topics/csharp-development-tools)

1. [Visual Studio](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/development-tools-visual-studio) (Novice): Find your way around Visual Studio 2026, from solutions and projects to running a program and stepping through it with the debugger.

## [Working with the Terminal](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/csharp-full-stack-bootcamp/topics/csharp-working-with-the-terminal)

1. [Working with the Terminal (Windows): an overview](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/working-with-the-terminal-an-overview) (Novice): Git Bash shows the same folders as File Explorer, as text you type, starting from your home folder (~) and the ls command.
2. [Common Terminal Commands](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/working-with-the-terminal-common-terminal-commands) (Novice): The terminal commands you'll use most (pwd, cd, ls, mkdir, touch, cp, mv and rm) for moving around and managing files and folders.

Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/csharp-full-stack-bootcamp/chapters/csharp-introduction-to-tools