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← Level 0: The basics · Mission 1 of 5

Install any free tool from GitHub, safely

The one skill behind every tool on this site. Twenty minutes, no coding, and by the end you'll have downloaded a real project and run it yourself.

20 minBeginnerTools: FreeFree mission
Tested 7 Oct 2026 · Windows 11, winget 1.29, Git 2.52
The terminal open and not scary
Git, Node.js, Python and uv installed (the four things most AI repos need)
Your first tool run straight from GitHub with one line
  • A checklist for spotting fake, malware-filled copies of popular repos
  • Your first repo downloaded and running on your machine
Before you start
  • A Windows 10/11 PC or a Mac
  • 20 minutes
  • Nothing else. No coding.
01/06Open the terminal0 done
STEP 01 of 06~2 min

Open the terminal

Every install guide on GitHub starts here, so get comfortable with it first.

  1. The terminal is just a window where you type commands instead of clicking. You can't break your computer by opening it.

    • Windows: press the Windows key, type Terminal, press Enter. (On older Windows 10, type PowerShell instead.)
    • Mac: press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, press Enter.

  2. Type the line below and press Enter. It just prints your current folder.

    Terminal
    pwd
    TipPaste with Ctrl + V on Windows Terminal or Cmd + V on Mac. Every command on this site has a Copy button, so you never need to type them out.
✓
CheckpointA line showing a folder path, something like C:\Users\yourname or /Users/yourname.
If it breaksIt says 'pwd is not recognised'
It says 'pwd is not recognised'
You're in the old Command Prompt (cmd). Close it and open Terminal or PowerShell instead.
Still stuck? Ask the community
STEP 02 of 06~2 min

See what you already have

Most AI repos need Git, Node.js, Python or uv. You might already have some of them.

  1. Run these four lines one at a time. Each one asks a program for its version number.

    Terminal
    git --version
node --version
python --version
uv --version
    Output
    git version 2.52.0.windows.1
v26.7.0
Python 3.13.5
uv 0.11.9 (7829a03b6 2026-05-05 x86_64-pc-windows-msvc)

  2. uv is a small, official tool that installs and runs Python apps cleanly, each in its own sandbox, so they never clash. Lots of lessons on this site use it. If a line prints a version, you have it. If it says not recognised or command not found, you'll install it in the next step.

    TipOn a Mac, use python3 --version instead. Macs reserve python for an old system copy.
✓
CheckpointYou know which of the four you have and which are missing.
Stuck? Ask the community
STEP 03 of 06~6 min

Install the missing pieces

One command each, straight from the official sources.

  1. On Windows, use winget. It's Microsoft's own installer and it's already on Windows 10 and 11. Only run the lines for the things you're missing:

    Windows
    winget install --id Git.Git -e
winget install --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS -e
winget install --id Python.Python.3.12 -e
winget install --id=astral-sh.uv -e

  2. On a Mac, install Homebrew first (copy the one-line command from brew.sh ↗), then:

    Mac
    brew install git node python@3.12 uv
    CarefulWhen you're done, close the terminal and open a new one. Programs you just installed aren't visible to a terminal that was already open. This catches out nearly everyone.

  3. Then run the four version checks from Step 2 again.

✓
CheckpointAll four version commands now print a version number.
If it breaks'winget' is not recognised + 4 more
'winget' is not recognised
Open the Microsoft Store, search App Installer, and update it. Winget comes with it.
Still 'not recognised' after installing
Close every terminal window and open a fresh one. If that doesn't work, restart the PC. The installer adds the program to your PATH, but only new windows see it.
winget or Homebrew won't install uv
Use uv's official installer instead. Windows: powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex". Mac: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh. Then open a new terminal. Both come from uv's install page ↗.
Python opens the Microsoft Store instead
Windows has a fake python shortcut that points to the Store. Go to Settings → Apps → Advanced app settings → App execution aliases and switch off both Python entries, then open a new terminal.
winget asks you to agree to the source terms
The first time you use winget it asks you to accept the Microsoft Store source agreements. Type Y and press Enter. It only asks once.
Still stuck? Ask the community
STEP 04 of 06~2 min

Run a tool from GitHub in one line

See the payoff straight away: a real open-source tool, running on your machine, with no setup.

  1. uvx comes with uv. It fetches a Python tool, runs it in a throwaway sandbox, and leaves the rest of your computer alone. Try it on cowsay, a tiny open-source joke program:

    Terminal
    uvx cowsay -t "I came from GitHub"
    Output
    Installed 1 package in 85ms
  __________________
| I came from GitHub |
  ==================
                  \
                   \
                     ^__^
                     (oo)\_______
                     (__)\       )\/\
                         ||----w |
                         ||     ||

  2. Silly, but it's the exact move you'll make for serious tools later in the course: one line, and a project someone published on GitHub is running on your PC.

✓
CheckpointA cow saying "I came from GitHub" in your terminal.
If it breaks'uvx' is not recognised
'uvx' is not recognised
uv isn't installed yet, or the terminal was open before you installed it. Go back to Step 3, then open a new terminal.
Still stuck? Ask the community
STEP 05 of 06~3 min

Spot a fake repo before you run it

Popular AI tools get cloned by scammers who add malware. This is how you avoid them.

When a repo goes viral, copies appear with the same name and a download link to a "setup.exe". Before you install anything, go through this checklist:

  • Owner: does the account match the project's official website or docs? ollama/ollama is real. ollama-free-download/ollama isn't.
  • Stars and forks: the real one usually has thousands. Copies have a handful, or a suspicious burst of new ones.
  • History: real projects have months of commits from several people. Fakes often have one or two commits, all from the last few days.
  • Downloads: official builds live under Releases on the right-hand side. Be very wary of a README that says "download this .zip/.exe" from a link elsewhere.
  • Password-protected zips are a red flag. Antivirus can't scan inside them, which is why scammers use them.
TipThe Issues and Pull requests tabs are a quick health check a scammer can't fake easily. A real project has a steady stream of both, with the owner replying. A cloned repo usually has them switched off or empty.
TipEvery tool page on this site links straight to the official repo. Start from there instead of a search result.
✓
CheckpointYou could explain to a friend why a repo with 9 stars, 1 commit and a password-protected download is a no.
Stuck? Ask the community
STEP 06 of 06~4 min

Download your first repo and run it

`git clone` is how almost every install starts. Do the full pattern once, on something harmless.

  1. The cow you just ran lives at github.com/VaasuDevanS/cowsay-python ↗. It's a small hobby project, plain Python you could read in ten minutes, which makes it a safe first clone. This downloads it into a new folder and lists what's inside:

    Terminal
    git clone https://github.com/VaasuDevanS/cowsay-python
cd cowsay-python
ls
    Output
    Cloning into 'cowsay-python'...

    Directory: ...\cowsay-python

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d-----        12/10/2026     01:02                .github
d-----        12/10/2026     01:02                cowsay
-a----        12/10/2026     01:02           3237 .gitignore
-a----        12/10/2026     01:02           1856 CHANGELOG.md
-a----        12/10/2026     01:02           3119 CONTRIBUTING.md
-a----        12/10/2026     01:02          35823 LICENSE
-a----        12/10/2026     01:02           1042 pyproject.toml
-a----        12/10/2026     01:02           5271 README.md

  2. That's Windows PowerShell, which shows dates and sizes. A Mac shows just the names.

  3. Now run your own copy. uv run reads the project's pyproject.toml, builds a private sandbox for it, then runs it:

    Terminal
    uv run python -m cowsay -c tux -t "Running my own copy"

  4. The first time, uv prints a few setup lines while it builds the sandbox. Then the penguin appears:

    Output
      ___________________
| Running my own copy |
  ===================
                        \
                         \
                          \
                           .--.
                          |o_o |
                          |:_/ |
                         //   \ \
                        (|     | )
                       /'\_   _/`\
                       \___)=(___/
    Windows PowerShell showing git clone of cowsay-python, ls listing the repo's files, then uv run building a sandbox and printing a penguin saying Running my own copy
    The whole pattern in one window: clone, cd, ls, then run your own copy with uv.

  5. That's the whole pattern: clone downloads it, cd moves into the folder, ls shows what's there, then you run the commands in its README. Every install on this site is a version of these four moves.

    • git pull (inside the folder) fetches the latest version later
    • cd .. moves back up one folder
    • Swap tux for dragon or trex for a different character
    TipFor a big project where you only want the latest version, add --depth 1 to git clone. It skips the entire history and downloads only the current files, which is much faster and smaller. You lose git pull updates, so use it when you want a one-off copy, not a repo you'll keep current.
✓
CheckpointA penguin saying "Running my own copy". You've cloned a repo and run it, which is what every GitHub install comes down to.
If it breaks'git' is not recognised + 2 more
'git' is not recognised
Go back to Step 3 and install Git, then open a new terminal.
It says the folder already exists
You've cloned it before. Run cd cowsay-python and carry on, or delete the folder and try again.
'No module named cowsay'
You're not inside the folder. Run cd cowsay-python first, then the uv run line again.
Still stuck? Ask the community

Your first wins

It works. Now do something with it.

Read any README like a pro

Paste a README into Claude or ChatGPT with this prompt before you install something new:

Prompt
Here is a GitHub README. Explain in plain English: 1) what this tool does, 2) exactly what I need installed first, 3) the install commands for Windows, step by step, 4) anything risky I should know. Flag anything that looks like a scam (strange download links, password-protected zips, requests for keys).

[paste the README here]

Next: the terminal survival kit

Ten commands and three keyboard tricks that every README assumes you know. Fifteen minutes, and the rest of this site gets much easier. Start the terminal survival kit.

Undo it cleanly

How to remove everything this mission installed.

To delete the test repo, go up a folder and remove it:

Windows
cd ..
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force cowsay-python
Mac
cd .. && rm -rf cowsay-python

The uvx copy of cowsay only lives in uv's cache. uv cache clean clears it.

Keep Git, Node, Python and uv installed. Nearly every lesson on this site uses at least one of them.

Next mission · Level 0: The basicsStop being scared of the black window: the 10 terminal commands every guide assumes
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