AI-Assisted IDE Setup for Skyline Developers

These instructions help Skyline developers configure their Windows workstation so LLM-assisted IDEs (Cursor, VS Code + Copilot/Claude, etc.) can build, test, and inspect Skyline autonomously. Perform these steps after cloning pwiz and completing the standard setup.

1. Install PowerShell 7 (UTF-8 Terminal Support)

1. Run:
   winget install Microsoft.PowerShell
2. Restart Cursor / VS Code.
3. Open a terminal and confirm PowerShell 7.x:
   $PSVersionTable.PSVersion

2. Configure Cursor / VS Code Terminal

Edit .vscode/settings.json inside the pwiz workspace:

{
  "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "PowerShell",
  "terminal.integrated.env.windows": {
    "LANG": "en_US.UTF-8",
    "LC_ALL": "en_US.UTF-8"
  }
}

This ensures all terminals use UTF-8 output with PowerShell 7.

3. Install ReSharper Command-Line Tools

Needed for the build/inspection scripts used by LLMs:

dotnet tool install -g JetBrains.ReSharper.GlobalTools

4. Verify Git Line Ending Settings

Run once to ensure Windows-style line endings locally:

git config --global core.autocrlf true

5. Recommended IDE Extensions

• VS Code / Cursor: C# Dev Kit (or C# extension), PowerShell, Markdown support
• Browser: Markdown Viewer extension for reading ai/ docs
• Optional: Beyond Compare / WinMerge for reviewing LLM diffs

6. Validation Checklist

From pwiz_tools\Skyline run:

.\ai\Build-Skyline.ps1 -RunTests -QuickInspection
.\ai\Run-Tests.ps1 -TestName CodeInspection

All commands should report [OK]. Resolve any [FAILED] messages before committing.

7. Full Details

The repository now includes a complete reference in ai/docs/developer-setup-guide.md. Review that document for rationale, troubleshooting tips, and optional productivity tools.

Last updated: 2025-11-06