01 — Setup

In this chapter:

• Install the tools you need: Node.js, Java, Docker
• Install and sign in to GitHub Copilot CLI
• Install the Dr JSkill skill so Copilot CLI can see it
• Install JDTLS so the agent has real Java code intelligence

Everything you install here is reusable well beyond this workshop. None of it is workshop-specific.

1. Install the prerequisites

1.1 Node.js 24 and npm 11

The generated front-end (Vue.js) needs Node.js to install dependencies and build the production bundle.

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install node@24
brew link --overwrite node@24

Windows (winget):

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

Linux (NodeSource):

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Any OS (recommended — version manager): install mise or volta and let it pin Node per project.

Verify:

node --version   # should print v24.x.x
npm --version    # should print 11.x.x

1.2 Java 25

Spring Boot 4 requires Java 25.

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install --cask temurin@25

Windows (winget):

winget install EclipseAdoptium.Temurin.25.JDK

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

wget -O- https://packages.adoptium.net/artifactory/api/gpg/key/public | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/adoptium.asc
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/adoptium.asc] https://packages.adoptium.net/artifactory/deb $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/adoptium.list
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install temurin-25-jdk

Verify:

java --version   # should show "openjdk 25.x.x" or similar

If java --version prints an older version, check JAVA_HOME. On macOS: export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 25).

1.3 Docker

Docker runs PostgreSQL and later your packaged application in containers.

• macOS / Windows: install Docker Desktop. Start it — the Docker whale must be in your menu bar.
• Linux: follow the official install guide for your distro, then sudo systemctl start docker.

Verify:

docker --version
docker compose version
docker ps           # must succeed — no "Cannot connect to the Docker daemon"

2. Install GitHub Copilot CLI

GitHub Copilot CLI is the AI coding agent we'll use for the whole workshop.

Requirements: A GitHub account with an active GitHub Copilot subscription (Individual, Business, or Enterprise).

Install:

npm install -g @github/copilot

Sign in:

copilot

On first launch, Copilot CLI opens a browser window for device-code authentication. Follow the prompt, enter the code, and authorize the app. After that, copilot drops you into an interactive session.

Exit the session (/exit or Ctrl+D) for now — we'll come back to it in Chapter 2.

Verify:

copilot --version

3. Install the Dr JSkill skill

Copilot CLI discovers skills from a known directory on your machine. We'll clone Dr JSkill there.

mkdir -p ~/.copilot/skills
cd ~/.copilot/skills
git clone https://github.com/jdubois/dr-jskill.git

Using a fork? If you plan to customize the skill (change defaults, bump versions, tweak conventions), fork jdubois/dr-jskill on GitHub first and clone your fork instead. The root README.md shows how.

Verify the skill is loaded by starting a Copilot CLI session in any directory and running:

/help

You should see Dr JSkill listed among the available skills. If not, see Appendix B — Troubleshooting.

4. Install JDTLS (Java code intelligence)

Why this matters. Copilot CLI has a built-in lsp tool that gives the agent semantic understanding of Java code — find-definition, find-references, rename, hover, and real-time error checking. Without a Java language server behind it, the agent falls back to text search (grep), which is slower and less accurate. For a Spring Boot workshop, JDTLS is the difference between an agent that edits confidently and one that guesses.

Dr JSkill generates a .github/lsp.json in every project it creates, so Copilot CLI wires JDTLS automatically — as long as the jdtls binary is on your PATH.

Install JDTLS

Verify:

jdtls --help

For deeper background (workspace tuning, verifying the server is live in a session, gotchas), see references/JDTLS.md.

5. Install a Git client

You probably have git already. If not:

• macOS: brew install git (also comes with Xcode Command Line Tools)
• Windows: install Git for Windows
• Linux: sudo apt-get install git (or your distro's equivalent)

Verify:

git --version
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

6. Sanity check

Run all of these. Every line should print something sensible — no errors.

node --version
java --version
docker ps
git --version
jdtls --help > /dev/null && echo "jdtls OK"
copilot --version

Checkpoint

You're installed. Nothing to commit yet — the first git repository comes in Chapter 2, when we generate the project.

If anything above failed, head to Appendix B — Troubleshooting or ask the facilitator before continuing. Chapter 2 assumes every tool in the sanity check works.

Next → Chapter 2 — Getting started