Beginner Setup (Windows)

This page walks you through setting up your machine from scratch on Windows 11 using GitHub Desktop and WSL. If you already have Git, Docker, and VS Code working, skip straight to the Setup Guide for the canonical pre-event checklist.

Note

macOS / Linux users — this walkthrough is Windows-specific. Follow the cross-platform instructions in the Setup Guide instead.

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Step 1 — Install the required software

Install the tools below before continuing. Each link opens the official installer or documentation.

Software	Install link	Notes
Windows 11	Already installed	Build 22000 or later required for WSL2
WSL2 + Ubuntu LTS	Install WSL	Run wsl --install in an elevated PowerShell terminal
Docker Desktop	Docker Desktop for Windows	Enable the WSL2 backend during setup
Visual Studio Code	Download VS Code	Version 1.100 or newer
VS Code — WSL extension	WSL extension	Required to open projects stored in WSL
VS Code — Dev Containers extension	Dev Containers extension	Required to open the workshop Dev Container
GitHub Desktop	Download GitHub Desktop	Sign in with the same GitHub account that has Copilot
Azure CLI	Install Azure CLI	Optional locally — it is pre-installed inside the Dev Container

Install the two VS Code extensions from the command line if you prefer:

code --install-extension ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl
code --install-extension ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers

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Step 2 — Create a project folder in WSL

Open Ubuntu from the Start menu (or run wsl in a terminal) and create a folder for your repositories:

mkdir -p ~/repos

From Windows Explorer you can reach this folder at:

\\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\<your-username>\repos

Tip

Replace <your-username> with your Ubuntu username. You can check it by running whoami in the Ubuntu terminal.

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Step 3 — Create your repository from the template

1. Open the azure-agentic-infraops-accelerator template in your browser.
2. Click Use this template → Create a new repository.

3. Choose an owner (your GitHub user or organisation) and give the repository a name.
4. Click Create repository.

Caution

Create your repository from the accelerator template, not from the documentation repository you are reading now. If you cloned this docs repo, you have the wrong starting point.

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Step 4 — Open your new repo in GitHub Desktop

Once GitHub finishes creating the repository, you will be on your new repository’s page (not the template).

1. Click the green Code button.
2. Select Open with GitHub Desktop.

GitHub Desktop will open and ask where to clone the repository.

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Step 5 — Clone to the WSL path

In the GitHub Desktop clone dialog, set the Local Path to your WSL repos folder:

\\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\<your-username>\repos

Tip

Paste the path directly into the path field — do not use the Browse button, as it may not display WSL network paths by default. Replace <your-username> with your Ubuntu username.

Click Clone and wait for the download to finish.

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Step 6 — Open in Visual Studio Code

After cloning completes, GitHub Desktop shows the repository. Click Open in Visual Studio Code.

VS Code will open the project. Because the folder is inside WSL, VS Code should automatically activate the WSL extension and connect to your Ubuntu instance.

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Step 7 — Continue to the Dev Container

Your code is now cloned into WSL and open in VS Code. From here, follow the Setup Guide — Setup Steps starting at step 2 to:

• Pull and build the Dev Container
• Sign in to Azure
• Enable custom agents
• Verify your toolchain

Tip

Do not skip the Dev Container step. All challenge work during the workshop happens inside the container, which has every tool pre-installed.

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What to do next

Once the Dev Container is running and you have completed the Setup Guide checks, head to Workshop Prep to read the scenario brief and team roles before event day.