Step 00 · Pre-flight check · 2 min

Check your environment before you start.

Most "why isn't this working?" moments come from a missing tool. Copy the prompt for your OS, paste it into Claude Code (or Cursor / Cline / any agent), and let it tell you exactly what's installed and what to fix — without touching your system.

WHAT VIBEKIT NEEDS

Four tools. That's it.

Node.js

≥ 20 (22 LTS preferred)

Next.js 16 runtime

pnpm

≥ 9

Package manager VibeKit projects use

git

any recent (Apple Git excluded on Mac)

Source control + cloning templates

gh CLI

any (optional)

Shortcuts for `gh repo create` during deploy

THE PROMPT

Pick your OS, copy, paste.

Open Claude Code (or any agent) inside a project folder. Paste the prompt below as your first message. The agent will run a single safe command, scan common install locations directly, and produce a report. It will NOT install anything.

setup-prompts/macos.mdPaste into your AI coding agent (macOS)
Check whether these tools are installed on this Mac and ready for VibeKit:
brew, node, pnpm, git, gh, npm, npx.

Run a single shell command. The shell is zsh.

CRITICAL — zsh safety rules:
- Do not use `path` or `status` as variable names — they are tied parameters in zsh and will corrupt PATH or process status.
- Use prefixed variable names instead: `tool_exe`, `tool_rc`, `candidate_exe`, `version_text`.
- Make the command robust for zsh (works whether the user runs `set -u` or not).

CRITICAL — discovery rules:
- Do not install anything. This is read-only inspection.
- Do not trust $PATH alone. Check common install locations directly first, then fall back to `command -v`.
- For each tool, find the executable absolute path first, then run it BY ABSOLUTE PATH to get its version. Do not call bare `node`, `git`, etc.
- Common install locations to probe before falling back:
  - Apple Silicon Homebrew: `/opt/homebrew/bin/`
  - Intel Homebrew: `/usr/local/bin/`
  - System: `/usr/bin/`, `/bin/`
  - pnpm: `$HOME/Library/pnpm/`, `$HOME/.local/share/pnpm/`
  - Node via nvm: `$HOME/.nvm/versions/node/*/bin/`
  - Node via fnm: `$HOME/Library/Application Support/fnm/aliases/default/bin/`
- For git: Apple Git does NOT count. If `git --version` output contains "Apple Git", report git as **not installed** and recommend the user install Homebrew git.
- If brew is missing, do not propose installing other things via brew. Stop after the table and tell the user to install Homebrew first from https://brew.sh.

Required versions for VibeKit:
- node: >= 20 (22 LTS preferred)
- pnpm: >= 9
- git: any recent (Apple Git excluded)
- gh: any (optional, only needed for `gh repo create` shortcuts)

OUTPUT FORMAT:

1. A markdown table with these columns: Tool | Status | Version | Path
   - Status is one of: ✅ Installed · ⚠️ Outdated · ❌ Missing
   - Version: the actual version string, or "—" if missing
   - Path: the absolute path to the executable, or "—" if missing

2. For each tool that's ❌ Missing or ⚠️ Outdated, give me the EXACT one-line install / upgrade command for macOS:
   - Use brew for everything if brew exists
   - For pnpm specifically, prefer `npm install -g pnpm` if node is installed and brew is not
   - If brew is missing, link to https://brew.sh and stop

3. End with a single status line:
   - "✅ Ready for VibeKit — proceed to https://vibekit.desishub.com/tutorial" if everything is installed and at the required version
   - "⚠️ Action required — install: <list>" otherwise

Do NOT run any install commands. Only check. After you show the report, wait for me to ask before doing anything else.

What you'll see back

  • · A clean markdown table: tool, status (✅ / ⚠️ / ❌), version, absolute path
  • · One-line install commands for anything missing (uses brew / winget / apt-dnf-pacman as appropriate)
  • · A final status line: ✅ Ready for VibeKit or ⚠️ Action required
WHY THIS MATTERS

The most common failure mode.

The #1 reason VibeKit (or any modern Node project) breaks isn't the framework — it's the user's machine. Wrong Node version. Apple Git instead of real git. pnpm not on PATH. Missing gh CLI when the deploy step needs it.

These prompts are explicitly defensive: they don't trust $PATH, they probe common install locations directly, they invoke executables by absolute path. On macOS they avoid zsh's tied parameters (path, status) so they never accidentally clobber your shell. On Windows they account for PowerShell 5.1's quirks. On Linux they auto-detect the distro before suggesting a package manager.

And critically — they never install anything without your explicit follow-up. You see the report, then you decide.