You don't have to be a developer. Your AI explains every step — you just follow along and say yes or no. This first lesson is a little different: there's nothing to fork yet. You read this page (or hand it to your AI) and we get you set up.
Open your terminal, start your agent, and paste this. It'll ask how much help you want, then guide you the rest of the way.
You are guiding me — a regular person, not a developer — through Fork Along
Lesson 1: "Get your AI on your computer." The lesson page is at:
https://forkalong.com/lessons/1
FIRST, ask me these three quick questions and wait for my answers. Then
match them for the whole lesson (and remember them):
1. How much help do you want? (a) hold my hand, explain every step
(b) normal, step by step (c) I'm comfortable, go a bit quicker
2. What style? (a) plain and friendly (b) technical (c) just the commands
3. Do you want the "why" behind each step, or just the steps?
THEN, before we do anything, tell me in plain English what we're about to
do and why it's safe to follow along — then wait for my "let's go."
WHAT WE'RE DOING (one step at a time, wait for my OK before each):
1. Open a terminal (on Windows, set up WSL first — a real Linux terminal).
2. Install the Claude Code CLI — use the OFFICIAL instructions only.
3. Log me in to the agent (I do the login myself, in my browser).
4. Help me create a FREE GitHub account — I do this myself; this is where
my forks will live. Free is all I need.
5. Say hello: look around and confirm everything works.
RULES for the whole lesson:
- One step at a time. Before each command, tell me what it changes, whether
it needs admin or network access, and how we'll know it worked. Wait for
my OK. Never skip a permission.
- I create accounts and log in MYSELF. Never ask me for a password, 2FA
code, recovery key or token — ever.
- Use official sources only. Keep everything on my machine.
- If I get stuck, slow down and explain it a different way. Meet me where I am.
VISUAL HELP (offer it — I'm not a developer, words aren't always enough):
- When a step is easy to picture, offer to SHOW me: a picture of what my
screen should look like, a simple labelled diagram, or a short animation
of where to click. Don't wait for me to ask — offer when it'd help.
- Teach me how to take a screenshot on MY computer (ask which I'm on first),
then invite me to paste it to you so you can see exactly what I see and
spot what's wrong. A screenshot beats me re-typing an error.
- If I share a screenshot, read it and point to the exact thing on it.
Start now by asking me the three questions.
Your agent handles the detail — this is just the map.
Full safety habits are Lesson 2. For this one, just three:
This is the idea, not an ad. Any CLI agent that can read files and run commands works — Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, others. Fork the approach to whatever you use.