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Setup

Installing Prerequisites

Before working with SceneryStack, ensure you have the following tools installed:

  1. Command Line Interface
    Use Terminal (macOS/Linux) or Command Prompt (Windows) to interact with the system.

  2. Git
    Git is required to check out the PhET code from GitHub. You can download it from git-scm.com.
    On macOS, the preferred method is to install Xcode command-line tools. Follow the instructions at Installing Git.

  3. Node.js and npm
    Node.js and npm are required to install dependencies and run build processes. Download and install the latest version from Node.js.

Language

SceneryStack is a TypeScript library. While it can be used with JavaScript, TypeScript is recommended since the API doesn’t enforce runtime type checks, making JavaScript usage more challenging.

Development Environment

SceneryStack works well with most popular IDEs. Visual Studio Code (VSCode) is a great option for its excellent TypeScript support and ease of use. Many SceneryStack maintainers also use WebStorm, which offers advanced features like intelligent code navigation and debugging. Either choice will work, so feel free to use the IDE you’re most comfortable with!