VS Code Intro: Build Together Workshop Materials

Welcome to this repository! This is the companion repo for VS Code Intro — a Women Defining AI workshop series designed to help you get comfortable with VS Code, one of the most powerful tools for building with AI. Whether you're just starting or looking to level up your skills, you'll find everything you need here to follow along during sessions and continue learning at your own pace.

What's in This Repository

Files are numbered in the order we'd recommend going through them:

• 1-Installing-vscode.md — Standalone installation guide for VS Code. Share this before the workshop so everyone arrives with VS Code already installed.

• 2-Build-together-vscode-workshop.md — 55-minute follow-along workshop guide. This is your step-by-step companion during the live session. You'll clone repositories, explore VS Code's interface, install extensions, and integrate Claude Code into your workflow.

• 3-Hands-on.md — Your practice file for the live session. Walks you through your first Git workflow (edit, commit, push) using sample.html, plus a "Try It Yourself" exercise comparing Chat, Claude Code in the terminal, and Claude Code in the sidebar.

• 4-Vscode-101-final.md — Comprehensive reference guide for ongoing learning. Bookmark this and return to it as you build. It covers core concepts, the VS Code UI, essential features, extensions, troubleshooting, and common questions.

• 5-Office-hours-follow-up.md — Q&A follow-up session guide. This captures questions from participants and provides detailed answers and additional resources for topics that came up during office hours.

• sample.html — A simple sample file used in 3-Hands-on.md for practicing edits, saving, and viewing changes in the browser.

Workshop Highlights

• Learn how to clone a repository and open it in VS Code.
• Explore the main panels of the editor, including the Explorer, Source Control, and terminal.
• See a quick example of branching in a shared repository and how to create a branch from the VS Code UI.
• Complete a hands-on Git workflow exercise with sample.html and build confidence with the editor.
• Compare AI coding assistants (Chat, Claude Code terminal, Claude Code sidebar) using the same prompt — both watched live and tried yourself.

How to Use These Materials

1. Before the workshop: Follow 1-Installing-vscode.md to install VS Code, then review the "Before You Start" section in the workshop guide.

2. During the workshop: Open 2-Build-together-vscode-workshop.md and follow along step by step. Use 3-Hands-on.md for your practice exercises. We'll build confidence together.

3. After the workshop: Use 4-Vscode-101-final.md as your reference guide. Come back to it whenever you need clarification or want to explore a feature in more depth.

4. Have questions? Check 5-Office-hours-follow-up.md — your question might already be answered there!

Before You Start

To get the most out of these materials, you'll need VS Code installed on your computer.

Download VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/

VS Code is free, open-source, and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. See 1-Installing-vscode.md for step-by-step installation instructions for each operating system, so you'll be ready to go when the session starts.

Quick Navigation

• Need to install VS Code first? → Read 1-Installing-vscode.md
• Need to get started? → Read 2-Build-together-vscode-workshop.md
• Ready to practice? → Open 3-Hands-on.md
• Looking for answers? → Check 4-Vscode-101-final.md
• Have specific questions? → See 5-Office-hours-follow-up.md

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Happy building!