Quick Start: New Machine Setup with AI Assistance

This guide gets you from a pristine Windows machine to a working Skyline development environment in about an hour, with an AI assistant guiding most of the process.

Prerequisites: Windows 10/11, internet connection, GitHub account with SSH key access to ProteoWizard/pwiz

Step 1: Open PowerShell

Press Win + X, then click Windows PowerShell (or Terminal on Windows 11).

Note: You're using the built-in Windows PowerShell. We'll upgrade to PowerShell 7 later.

Step 2: Install Claude Code

Copy and paste this command into PowerShell:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Wait for the installation to complete.

Step 3: Fix PATH (if needed)

Try running:

claude --version

If you see "claude is not recognized", run these commands to fix your PATH:

$claudePath = "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User") + ";$claudePath", "User")
$env:Path = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","Machine") + ";" + [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","User")

Then verify: claude --version

Step 4: Start Claude Code

claude

Follow the prompts to authenticate with your Anthropic account. You'll need:

• Claude Pro, Max, or Team subscription, OR

Step 5: Let Claude Code Guide the Rest

Once authenticated, paste this prompt into Claude Code:

Help me set up a Skyline development environment on this Windows machine.

Fetch and follow the instructions at:
https://skyline.ms/new-machine-setup.url

Guide me through each step, verifying success before moving on.
Ask me before running any installers.

Claude Code will then:

1. Install Git (if needed)
2. Configure Git settings
3. Help you set up SSH keys for GitHub
4. Clone the pwiz repository
5. Guide you through Visual Studio installation
6. Run the initial build
7. Verify everything works

What Happens Next

The AI assistant will walk you through each step interactively. It will:

• Check what's already installed and skip unnecessary steps
• Verify each step worked before moving on
• Explain any errors and help you fix them
• Tell you exactly what to click in GUI installers

For Visual Studio installation, you'll need to interact with the installer GUI directly, but Claude Code will tell you exactly which workloads to select.

Alternative: Manual Setup

If you prefer to set up without AI assistance, see the traditional guide: How to Build Skyline

After Setup: Add AI Development Tools

Once your basic environment is working, you can add AI-assisted development tools. In Claude Code, navigate to the repository and run:

cd C:\proj\pwiz
/pw-configure

This adds: PowerShell 7 (UTF-8 support), ReSharper CLI, GitHub CLI, LabKey MCP server, and other tools that enhance the AI-assisted development workflow.

Troubleshooting

Last updated: 2025-12-17