Get your AI on your computer
You don't have to be a developer. Your AI explains every step — you follow along and say yes or no. This first episode is a little different: there's nothing to fork yet. You read this page (or hand it to your AI) and we get you set up.
Start here — paste this into your AI
Open your terminal, start your agent, and paste this. It’ll ask how much help you want, then guide you the rest of the way.
You are guiding me — a regular person, not a developer — through Fork Along Episode 1: "Get your AI on your computer." The episode page is at: https://forkalong.com/episodes/1 FIRST, ask me these three quick questions and wait for my answers. Then match them for the whole episode (and remember them): 1. How much help do you want? (a) hold my hand, explain every step (b) normal, step by step (c) I'm comfortable, go a bit quicker 2. What style? (a) plain and friendly (b) technical (c) just the commands 3. Do you want the "why" behind each step, or just the steps? THEN, before we do anything, tell me in plain English what we're about to do and why it's safe to follow along — then wait for my "let's go." WHAT WE'RE DOING (one step at a time, wait for my OK before each): 1. Open a terminal (on Windows, set up WSL first — a real Linux terminal). 2. Install the Claude Code CLI — use the OFFICIAL instructions only. GOTCHA: if a step asks for my computer password (sudo), WARN me first that the screen shows NOTHING as I type — no dots, no stars, nothing. That's normal on Linux/Mac/WSL, not a frozen keyboard. I just type it and press Enter. (This trips up a lot of Windows folks.) 3. Log me in to the agent (I do the login myself, in my browser). 4. Help me create a FREE GitHub account — I do this myself in my browser. Tell me in one line WHY GitHub: it's the safe online home for my projects — backed up, and where "forking" actually happens. Free is all I need. 5. Make a tidy home for projects: a "projects" folder, with ONE sub-folder per project named after its GitHub repo (~/projects/<repo-name>). Explain that every new idea gets its own folder AND its own terminal window/tab, so projects never tangle — and show me how to open a fresh terminal for a new one. 6. Turn on auto-save to GitHub: set things up so you can commit and push my work to GitHub for me as we go. Always create repos as PRIVATE by default — my stuff stays mine unless I decide to share it. 7. Say hello: look around and confirm everything works. RULES for the whole episode: - One step at a time. Before each command, tell me what it changes, whether it needs admin or network access, and how we'll know it worked. Wait for my OK. Never skip a permission. - I create accounts and log in MYSELF. Never ask me for a password, 2FA code, recovery key or token — ever. - Use official sources only. Keep everything on my machine. - If I get stuck, slow down and explain it a different way. Meet me where I am. VISUAL HELP (offer it — I'm not a developer, words aren't always enough): - When a step is easy to picture, offer to SHOW me: a picture of what my screen should look like, a simple labelled diagram, or a short animation of where to click. Don't wait for me to ask — offer when it'd help. - Teach me how to take a screenshot on MY computer (ask which I'm on first), then invite me to paste it to you so you can see exactly what I see and spot what's wrong. A screenshot beats me re-typing an error. - If I share a screenshot, read it and point to the exact thing on it. Start now by asking me the three questions.
Using an AI that can read web pages? You don’t even need to copy anything — just point it at this page and say “walk me through this Fork Along episode.” The whole page is written for your agent to follow.
Not sure what you’re looking at? Ask your agent to show you a picture of what the step should look like, or make a quick animation of where to click. Stuck? It can teach you how to take a screenshot and you paste it back — then it sees exactly what you see. You never have to describe a screen in words.
What we’ll do
Your agent handles the detail — this is just the map.
- Open a terminal. On Windows we set up WSL (a proper Linux terminal on your PC). On Mac/Linux it’s already there.
- Install the CLI agent. We use Claude Code as the example — from the official install page.
- Log in to the agent. You do this yourself.
- Create a free GitHub account in your browser. It’s the safe online home for your projects — backed up, and where forking happens.
- Set up a tidy home. A
~/projectsfolder, one sub-folder per project named after its repo. New idea = new folder + its own terminal tab, so nothing tangles. - Turn on auto-save to GitHub. Your agent commits and pushes for you — always to a private repo by default. Your stuff stays yours.
- Say hello. Ask your agent to look around and confirm everything’s working.
Heads-up when it asks for your password. If a setup step needs your computer password (sudo), the screen shows nothing as you type — no dots, no stars. That’s normal on Linux/Mac/WSL, not a frozen keyboard. Type it and press Enter. (Catches out a lot of Windows folks.)
Safety, for now
Full safety habits are Episode 2. For this one, just three:
- Make sure you’re following the real episode (forkalong.com), not a copy.
- Use the official install instructions — your agent points you at them.
- Never paste passwords, 2FA codes, recovery keys or tokens to your agent. You handle every login yourself.
Not using Claude?
This is the idea, not an ad. Any CLI agent that can read files and run commands works — Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, others. Fork the approach to whatever you use.