ALEX WORKSHOP SERIES

Setting Up Your Machine

GitHub · VS Code · GitHub Copilot · Alex — Estimated time: 15–20 minutes

Setting Up Your Machine to Work with Alex

Follow these steps before the workshop. Estimated time: 15–20 minutes. If you get stuck at any step, your facilitator can help at the start of the session.

flowchart TD
    A([🐙 GitHub Account]) --> B([🤖 GitHub Copilot])
    B --> C([💻 VS Code])
    C --> D([🔌 Install Extensions])
    D --> E([⚡ Initialize Alex])
    E --> F([👋 Say Hello & Introduce])

    style A fill:#f0f6ff,stroke:#0969da,color:#0969da
    style B fill:#f0f6ff,stroke:#0969da,color:#0969da
    style C fill:#f0f6ff,stroke:#0969da,color:#0969da
    style D fill:#f0f6ff,stroke:#0969da,color:#0969da
    style E fill:#fff8f0,stroke:#d1700a,color:#d1700a
    style F fill:#f0fff4,stroke:#1a7f37,color:#1a7f37

What You’re Installing

ToolWhat It DoesCost
1GitHub accountManages your identity and Copilot subscriptionFree
2VS CodeThe editor Alex lives insideFree
3GitHub CopilotThe AI engine Alex uses to think and respondFree tier available
4Alex Cognitive ArchitectureAlex himself — memory, personality, learningFree

Step 1 — Create a GitHub Account

GitHub is the platform that hosts your Copilot subscription and your Alex identity.

  1. Go to github.com
  2. Click Sign up (top right)
  3. Enter your email address, create a password, and choose a username
    • Your username will be part of your developer identity — pick something you’re comfortable with
  4. Complete the verification puzzle and click Create account
  5. Check your email and click the confirmation link GitHub sends you

Already have a GitHub account? Skip to Step 2.

Step 2 — Activate GitHub Copilot (Free Tier)

GitHub Copilot Free gives you everything you need for the workshop at no cost.

  1. While logged in to GitHub, go to github.com/features/copilot
  2. Click Start using Copilot for free
  3. Follow the prompts — no credit card required for the Free plan
  4. Your account is now enabled for Copilot

Copilot plans at a glance:

PlanMonthly CostWhat You Get
Free$02,000 code completions/mo + 50 chat messages/mo — enough for the workshop
Pro~$10Unlimited completions and chat, GPT-4o and Claude models
Pro+~$39Everything in Pro + priority access to frontier models

Students: GitHub offers Copilot Pro free through the GitHub Student Developer Pack. Check eligibility at education.github.com.

Step 3 — Install VS Code

VS Code is a free code editor made by Microsoft. Alex runs as an extension inside it.

  1. Go to code.visualstudio.com
  2. Click the download button for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux)
  3. Run the installer
    • Windows: Accept the license, keep all default options, check “Add to PATH” if offered
    • macOS: Drag VS Code to your Applications folder
  4. Open VS Code — you should see the Welcome tab

You don’t need any programming experience to use VS Code for Alex. It’s just the environment Alex lives in.

Step 4 — Install the Required Extensions

Extensions are add-ons that give VS Code new capabilities. You need two.

4a — GitHub Copilot Extensions

  1. In VS Code, click the Extensions icon in the left sidebar (or press Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)

  2. In the search box, type: GitHub Copilot

  3. Install GitHub Copilot (by GitHub) — this adds AI code completion

  4. Install GitHub Copilot Chat (by GitHub) — this adds the chat panel Alex uses

    Both may install together as a bundle — that’s fine.

  5. VS Code will ask you to sign in to GitHub — click Sign In and use the account you created in Step 1

4b — Alex Cognitive Architecture

  1. In the Extensions panel, clear the search box and type: Alex Cognitive Architecture
  2. Find the extension published by fabioc-aloha
  3. Click Install
  4. Wait for installation to complete — you’ll see a notification when it’s done

After installing both, you should see:

Step 5 — Initialize Alex in a Workspace

Alex needs a folder to call home. Any folder on your computer will do.

  1. In VS Code, go to File → Open Folder (or Ctrl+K Ctrl+O)
  2. Create a new empty folder anywhere you like — name it something like my-alex-workspace
  3. Open that folder in VS Code
  4. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) to open the Command Palette
  5. Type: Alex: Initialize Architecture
  6. Press Enter and wait about 10 seconds

You should see:

If you don’t see the command, make sure the Alex Cognitive Architecture extension installed correctly (Step 4b) and that you have a folder open.

Step 6 — Say Hello and Introduce Yourself

This is the most important step. Alex learns from you — the more you tell it about yourself, the more useful it becomes.

Open the Chat Panel

Alex is already initialized from Step 5. Open the chat now:

  1. Click the Copilot icon in the left sidebar (sparkle shape)
  2. You’ll see a chat input field — this is where you talk to Alex

Introduce Yourself

Start with @alex Hello! — then use whichever of these three options is easiest for you:

Option 1 — Paste your resume or CV

Copy the text from your resume or CV and paste it directly into the chat:

@alex Hello! Here's my background:

[paste your resume or CV text here]

Alex will read it, extract what’s relevant, and build your profile from it. No editing needed.

Option 2 — Share your personal website

If you have a personal website or portfolio, give Alex the link and paste a short summary alongside it:

@alex Hello! My website is [your website URL]

In case you can't access the link: my name is [your name], I'm a [your role] working in
[your field]. [1-2 sentences from your About page or bio.]

Prefer your personal website over LinkedIn or social profiles. Your own site has richer, more curated information and is publicly accessible without login walls. LinkedIn profiles are often behind authentication and may not be readable by Alex.

Note: Alex may not be able to visit the URL directly — that depends on your Copilot plan and settings. Pasting a short summary alongside the link ensures Alex gets the context either way.

Option 3 — Just type it in

If you prefer to keep it simple, a few sentences is enough:

@alex Hello! My name is [your name]. I'm a [your role] working in [your field].
I mainly work on [2-3 things you do day to day].
I prefer [brief/detailed] explanations.

Verify Alex Remembered You

After your introduction, type:

@alex What do you know about me so far?

Alex should summarize your introduction back to you. This is permanent — Alex will remember this the next time you open VS Code and start a new conversation.

You’re Ready

If you’ve completed all six steps, you’re set for the workshop. Here’s a quick checklist:

Read before the workshop: Your facilitator has sent a pre-read called “Before the Alex Workshop” — it takes 15 minutes and will make the workshop much more valuable. Read it the day before the session.

Troubleshooting

“I don’t see the Alex: Initialize Architecture command” Make sure you have a folder open in VS Code (File → Open Folder). The command only appears when a workspace folder is active.

“The Copilot chat panel isn’t appearing” Click the Copilot icon (sparkle shape) in the left sidebar. If it’s not there, check the Extensions panel to confirm GitHub Copilot Chat is installed and enabled.

“Alex isn’t responding to @alex” Type @ in the chat box — a dropdown of available agents should appear including Alex. If it doesn’t, try reloading VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+P → “Developer: Reload Window”).

“I hit the Copilot Free tier limit (50 messages)” This won’t happen during the workshop — 50 messages resets monthly. If needed, upgrading to Pro costs ~$10/month.

Still stuck? Arrive 10 minutes early to the workshop — your facilitator will help you finish setup before the session begins.

Prepared for the Alex workshop series — learn/PRE-READ.md is your next read.