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Setup the Course GitHub Repo

Download the course code repo from GitHub, unzip it, and open it in VS Code, so every concept demo, practice problem, and project file in this course is on your computer before you write your first line of Python.

Step-01: What You Will Learn

In this lesson you will:

  • Download the course repo, python-for-absolute-beginners, from GitHub as a ZIP file.
  • Unzip it and keep it somewhere you can find again.
  • Open the folder in VS Code.
  • Find your way around the folders you will use in every section.

Note: You do not need Git for this. We download the code as a ZIP file, which is the simplest way to get it and works the same on macOS, Windows, and Linux. If you already know Git and prefer to clone the repo, that works too and the folders are identical.

Step-02: Download the Repo from GitHub

  1. Open the course repo in your browser: github.com/stacksimplify/python-for-absolute-beginners.
  2. Click the green Code button near the top right of the file list.
  3. In the menu that drops down, click Download ZIP.
  4. The file python-for-absolute-beginners-main.zip downloads to your Downloads folder.

Tip: The -main in the file name is the branch name, not part of the project. You will drop it in the next step.

Step-03: Unzip It and Keep It Somewhere You Can Find

Pick a home for the folder that you will still remember in a month. Your Documents folder is a good choice. Avoid Downloads, because that is the folder everyone eventually clears out.

  1. Open Finder and go to your Downloads folder.
  2. Double-click python-for-absolute-beginners-main.zip. macOS unzips it into a folder next to it.
  3. Drag the folder python-for-absolute-beginners-main into your Documents folder.
  4. Click the folder name once, press Enter, and rename it to python-for-absolute-beginners.
  1. Open File Explorer and go to your Downloads folder.
  2. Right-click python-for-absolute-beginners-main.zip and choose Extract All.
  3. In the dialog, change the destination to your Documents folder, then click Extract.
  4. Right-click the extracted folder, choose Rename, and rename it to python-for-absolute-beginners.
  1. Open your file manager and go to your Downloads folder.
  2. Right-click python-for-absolute-beginners-main.zip and choose Extract Here, or run unzip python-for-absolute-beginners-main.zip in a terminal.
  3. Move the folder into your home or Documents folder.
  4. Rename it to python-for-absolute-beginners.

Note: Windows sometimes extracts into a folder of the same name that holds another folder of the same name. If you open the folder and see a single folder inside it rather than the section folders, use the inner one.

Step-04: Open the Folder in VS Code

Always open the folder, not a single file. VS Code needs the folder to show you the file tree and to find your Python files.

  1. Open VS Code.
  2. Go to File and then Open Folder.
  3. Select python-for-absolute-beginners and click Open.
  1. Open VS Code.
  2. Go to File and then Open Folder.
  3. Select python-for-absolute-beginners and click Select Folder.
  4. Or right-click the folder in File Explorer and choose Open with Code, which the installer added for you in the previous lesson.
  1. Open VS Code.
  2. Go to File and then Open Folder.
  3. Select python-for-absolute-beginners and click Open.

If VS Code asks whether you trust the authors of the files in this folder, choose Yes, I trust the authors. This is the course code you just downloaded from our repo.

You should now see the section folders in the Explorer sidebar on the left.

Step-05: Find Your Way Around

Every section folder from 02 onward is laid out the same way, so once you know one, you know the rest.

S.No What you see What is in it
1 01-Python-Environment-Setup to 13-Classes-and-OOP-Basics One folder per section, in the order you work through them.
2 milestone-projects The two projects you build: milestone-project-1 and milestone-project-2.
3 pdfs The slides for each section, as a PDF you can keep.
4 images The pictures used by the section pages. You will not need to open this one.

Open any section folder from 02 onward and you will find the same three folders inside:

S.No Folder What is in it
1 python-learn The concept demos. One file per step, such as s05_step01_lists.py, plus the s05_lecture.py file you type into as you follow along.
2 python-practice The practice problems, with the finished answers in python-practice/solutions.
3 python-workshop The optional workshop problems, with their answers in python-workshop/solutions.

Two folders do not follow that pattern, and both are expected:

  • 01-Python-Environment-Setup holds only a README. This setup section has no code to run.
  • 12-Virtual-Environments-and-Packaging has no python-workshop folder. That section is command-line work, so it has concept demos and practice only.

Tip: Leave this folder open in VS Code for the whole course. Every section you start is a folder you already have.