I Set Up My Windows 11 Machine Once for All DevOps Projects — Here’s How.

INTRODUCTION:

Most people fail at DevOps before they even begin — not because DevOps is hard, but because their Windows setup is broken.

Docker errors. Git **not found. Half-installed tools.
Instead of learning **CI/CD, they spend weeks debugging their machine.

This is Phase 0.

No pipelines. No Kubernetes. No cloud magic.
Just a clean, one-time Windows 11 DevOps setup that won’t break later.

In 60–90 minutes, we’ll install only what’s required for real CI/CD projects:
Git, GitHub, Docker (WSL 2), Node.js, VS Code, and AWS CLI — nothing extra.

If every command works at the end, your foundation is solid.
From here on, everything we build is real proof.

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✅WHAT YOU WILL HAVE AT THE END OF PHASE 0

• A working terminal
• Git connected to GitHub
• Docker running correctly
• Node.js ready (for the sample app)
• VS Code configured
• AWS CLI ready (but not used yet)

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🔹** STEP 1: Install Visual Studio Code (Editor)**

Why?

We need a clean, reliable editor. VS Code is industry standard.

👉 [https://code.visualstudio.com/Download]

After Installation — Install These Extensions ONLY:

Open VS Code → Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)

Install:

✅ Docker
✅ GitHub Pull Requests and Issues
✅ YAML
✅ Terraform (for later, but safe to install now)

Do not install random themes or plugins.

🔹 STEP 2: Install Git (Source Control)

Why?

Git is non-negotiable. Recruiters check GitHub first.

Download & Install
👉 [(https://git-scm.com/download/win)]

During installation:

• Click Next for everything
• When asked about default editor → choose VS Code
• When asked about line endings → Checkout Windows-style, commit Unix-style

Verify Installation

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run:

git --version

✅ You should see a version number.

STEP 3: Create / Confirm GitHub Account

Platform you’ll showcase everything on

👉 [https://github.com]

Actions

• Create an account (if you don’t have one)
• Choose a professional username Example: first-devops,firstname-cloud, etc.

⚠️ This GitHub profile will go on your CV.

🔹 STEP 4: Install Node.js (For Sample App)

We are not learning Node.js.
We only need it to run the app and tests.

👉 [https://nodejs.org/en/download/]

Choose:

• LTS version
• Windows Installer (.msi)

Verify

node --version
npm --version

Both should return versions.

🔹 STEP 5: Install Docker Desktop (CRITICAL)

Why?

CI/CD = Docker. No Docker, no DevOps.

👉 [https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/]

During installation:

• Enable WSL 2
• Allow it to install Linux kernel updates

⚠️ You may be asked to restart your PC — do it

After Restart:

Open Docker Desktop

Wait until it says: “Docker is running”

Verify

docker --version
docker compose version

✅ Both must work.

🔹 STEP 6: Install AWS CLI (Preparation)

We won’t use AWS yet, but install now to avoid breaking flow later.

👉 [https://aws.amazon.com/cli/]

Download:

• AWS CLI v2 – Windows

Verify

aws --version

You should see version info.

⚠️ Do NOT configure credentials yet.

🔹 STEP 7: Install Git Bash (Terminal We’ll Use)

If you installed Git correctly, Git Bash is already installed.

Open:

• Right-click anywhere → Git Bash

This will be our main terminal.

🔹 STEP 8: Quick Health Check (IMPORTANT)

Run these commands one by one in Git Bash:

git --version
docker --version
docker compose version
node --version
npm --version
aws --version

✅ All must return versions

Note well: If your environment is broken, everything later breaks.