GITing Started

These instructions will ensure you can participate in the course by verifying you

• have correctly installed the course software
• can use it to develop Java programs with OpenJFX (required for some of the example programs, but not the larger team projects)
• can submit your code to the course's Gitlab group

Download and Install Development Software

• Download and install OpenJDK LTS version 25 (before starting the download, make sure to select the FULL JDK, DMG or MSI package, instead of the default Standard)
• Download and install GIT (includes a Unix style command-line Shell for Windows or can also install a full version of Ubuntu Linux)
• Download and install an IDE (e.g., VS Code, IntelliJ, or perhaps Cursor AI Editor), these instructions use IntelliJ

Videos

• Here is a video of the installation process since there are some specific notes I wanted to show in choosing what to download
• Here is a video showing similar steps to those below for working with a project with explanations along the way

Configure GIT

These instructions use the command-line when interacting with GIT. Even if you have a preferred graphical tool or it is built into your Development Environment, you should be able to do the basics on the command-line:

• Accessing the command-line within IntelliJ you can use the Terminal tab within IntelliJ, View → Tool Windows → Terminal, (this first time it would require creating a "dummy" project)
  OR, outside of IntelliJ, you can
  • Download and install the universal Warp Terminal
  • Mac or Linux: search for the built in Terminal program
  • Windows: search for the program Git Shell that comes with GIT (but there are some settings you should set for it to work well)
• Within Terminal/Shell, configure GIT for your computer (note, these commands need to be done once for each computer you program on)
  

      git config --global user.name "YOUR NAME"
      git config --global user.email NETID@duke.edu

Completing this step is vital so the Teaching Team can identify the code you write during the semester.

Login to Gitlab

1. Within a Browser, go to the website: https://coursework.cs.duke.edu/
2. Press the Shibboleth button to log in using your Duke NetID
3. After you have successfully been logged in through Duke's standard log in page, you should see your Dashboard
4. If you have never used this Gitlab site in another CompSci course OR you have a new computer since you last used it, then you will need to generate a new SSH key
5. Otherwise, you should be able to skip the next section

Generate an RSA SSH Key

1. Within a Browser, go to the website: https://coursework.cs.duke.edu/help/user/ssh.md
2. If you have not already generated an SSH key for another class:
   • Within Terminal/Shell, run the command below and accept the default options (details are in the RSA SSH Keys section within "Generating a new SSH key pair")
     

         ssh-keygen -t rsa -C NETID@duke.edu -b 4096

3. If you have not already connected your current computer to our Gitlab site (coursework):
• Within Terminal/Shell, copy the public key using the command corresponding to your OS given in the section Add an SSH key to your GitLab account
• Within a Browser, paste the copied public key into the Gitlab text area (Preferences → SSH Keys → Key Text Area)
  giving it the same title: id_rsa, and press Add key

Completing this step is vital to allow you to access the course Gitlab server (there is no password option).

Get your Own Copy of a Gitlab Project's Starter Code

1. Within a Browser, visit your assignment project code, CompSci590_2026Spring/maze_NETID
2. Copy the SSH URL (e.g., git@coursework.cs.duke.edu:compsci590_2026spring/maze_NETID.git)
   Note, it is will appear as an option when you press the blue Code button

Clone your Copy of the Project onto your Local Machine

1. Within Terminal, change to a folder you want to hold all your course projects (WORKSPACE_FOLDER can be any folder you want as long as there are no spaces anywhere in the path)
   

       cd WORKSPACE_FOLDER

2. Download a local version of the project that is linked to your Gitlab repository
   

       git clone git@coursework.cs.duke.edu:compsci590_2026spring/maze_NETID.git

3. That command should create a folder named lab_bounce within your workspace folder that contains configuration information for GIT (e.g., a folder named .git — note that it starts with a period)
   

       ls -a maze_NETID

Create a Project from your Local Copy

1. Within your IDE, open the newly cloned folder using File → Open (for IntelliJ)
2. Select the folder you just created, maze_NETID, and press Open
3. Once the project window appears, you will need to a few more steps to get it to run:
   Note, depending on the speed of your machine, it may take a little while to recognize and setup the project, as well as download some files this first time.
   1. Click on the Project label in the leftmost gutter to expand the contents of your project folder
   2. Click to expand the folders src → java → main to find the Java class Main
   3. Right click on this class to run it by selecting Run Main.main()
4. Run the program to verify that your Java installation is working
   If there are compilation errors or it does not run, then you may not have installed the latest versions of Java or IntelliJ or the project is not correctly configured.

Completing these steps verifies your Java and IntelliJ installations are correct and working together.

Push Changes Made to your Project back up to Gitlab

1. Within Terminal, your maze_NETID folder should now have the configuration folders for both GIT (e.g., .git) and IntelliJ (e.g., .idea)

       ls -a lab_bounce

2. Within IntelliJ, the file README.md should already be open in Preview mode. Change it Edit and Preview mode by pressing the middle blue icon in the pane's upper right corner.
3. Add your name and save the file
   When you do this, you should see the file's name in the Project View's list of files change color to indicate GIT knows it has been changed
4. Within Terminal, you can verify that GIT also knows that it has been changed by typing
   

       git status

5. Add your changed files to those staged for your next commit
   

       git add README.md

6. Then note that all the added files should be grouped together into a single commit to the repository, with a message describing the changes contained in this commit
   

       git commit -m "Included my name in the README"

7. Push all your commits to the remote repository, e.g., Gitlab, so that others (UTAs, teammates, etc.) can see your changes
   

       git push -u origin main

8. Within a browser, refresh the Gitlab page for your repository to see your changed README file

Completing this step verifies you can correctly access the course Gitlab group to submit your work for the semester.

Setup IntelliJ to Fix Code Indentation Issues

The Coding Standards for this project are Google's Java code format standards.

Set up IntelliJ to do this for you automatically:

• Download intellij-java-google-style.xml from its GitHub repository
• Go to the IntelliJ menu and select Preferences
• In the dialog that appears, select Editor → Code Style
• On the line that says Scheme, click on the gear icon after the Combo Box with the tooltip Show Scheme Actions
• Click on Import Scheme → IntelliJ IDEA code style XML
• Select the previously downloaded XML file and then Open
• Finally unselect the option Enable EditorConfig support before clicking OK to close the dialog box

IntelliJ should now monitor your Code Formatting, but you can reformat code in any file to follow these conventions by selecting the menu Code → Reformat Code (especially before pushing it to the remote repository!).