Week 1: Get Set Up

Phase: Onboarding Due by Friday: Class Introductions post in Canvas

Goal

By Friday you should have the app running on your machine and know what your role is.

Monday

Read the syllabus from top to bottom — pay close attention to how grading works
Watch the course introduction video posted in Canvas
Accept the GitHub repository invitation (link posted in Canvas)

Wednesday

If you come from a Java background, read the Python Quickstart for Java Programmers before touching the codebase. It covers decorators, type hints, and the patterns FastAPI uses — the things that trip up Java developers most.

Set up your development environment:

bash

# 1. Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_ORG/cs408-fall26
cd cs408-fall26

# 2. Install uv  (skip if you already have it)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# 3. Install all dependencies
uv sync --all-groups

# 4. Start the dev server
uv run uvicorn app.main:app --reload

Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser. You should see the TechHire home page.

Then run the test suite to make sure everything passes:

bash

uv run pytest --tb=short -q

If anything fails, post the exact error output in the #help channel on Discord before asking a question.

Thursday

Read CONTRIBUTING.md end to end. This is the most important document in the repo. It explains:

How to name branches
How to open a PR
What CI checks must pass
How your grade is calculated

Friday

Post your Class Introduction in Canvas. Include:

Your name and GitHub username
Your assigned role (posted by the instructor in Canvas)
One question you have about the project or the tech stack

Week 1 checklist

[ ] App runs at http://localhost:8000
[ ] uv run pytest passes with no failures
[ ] You know your role (check Canvas announcement)
[ ] Class Introduction posted in Canvas

Week 1: Get Set Up ​

Goal ​

Monday ​

Wednesday ​

Thursday ​

Friday ​

Week 1 checklist ​