Getting Started

Setting Up Your Environment

How to configure your development environment for agentic workflows

By dpavanciniUpdated February 19, 2026
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Overview

Before you can work with AI coding agents, you need a properly configured development environment. This page walks you through the essentials.

Choose Your AI Coding Tool

Several tools support agentic development workflows:

  • Claude Code — Anthropic's CLI agent for terminal-based development
  • Cursor — AI-native code editor built on VS Code
  • GitHub Copilot — AI pair programmer integrated into VS Code and JetBrains
  • Windsurf — Codeium's AI-powered IDE

Each tool has different strengths. Claude Code excels at multi-file changes and complex refactoring. Cursor offers tight IDE integration. Pick the one that fits your workflow best — or use multiple for different tasks.

Essential Setup Steps

1. Version Control

Agentic workflows make frequent changes. A solid Git setup is non-negotiable:

  • Initialize or clone your repository
  • Create a feature branch for agentic work
  • Configure .gitignore properly
  • Consider using git worktrees for parallel agent sessions

2. Project Context

AI agents work best with context. Provide it through:

  • README.md — Project overview, setup instructions, architecture
  • CLAUDE.md / .cursorrules — Agent-specific instructions and conventions
  • Type definitions — TypeScript types, API schemas, database models
  • Test suites — Existing tests tell agents about expected behavior

3. Environment Configuration

# Example: Setting up Claude Code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
cd your-project
claude

4. Safety Net

Always have safeguards in place:

  • Pre-commit hooks — Lint and format before committing
  • CI/CD pipeline — Automated tests catch regressions
  • Code review — Human review of agent-generated code
  • Branch protection — Prevent direct pushes to main

Verification Checklist

Before starting agentic work, verify:

  • Git repository initialized with clean working tree
  • AI tool installed and authenticated
  • Project context files in place (README, type definitions)
  • Linting and formatting configured
  • Test suite runs successfully
  • CI/CD pipeline active

Next Steps

With your environment ready, move on to Your First Agentic Workflow to put it all into practice.

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