How this site works

This page takes two minutes, and it makes every other page easier. It shows you how the course is laid out, and the small helpers that are built into each page.

How the course is laid out

A course is split into lessons, and a lesson is split into pages, one step per page. Do them in order: each page expects the one before it to be done.

• The menu on the left lists every lesson. Only the lesson you are in is open. Click the arrow next to any other lesson to see its pages. On a phone, the menu is behind the Menu button at the top.
• At the bottom of every page, Next page takes you to the next step, and Previous page takes you back.
• On a wide screen, "On this page" on the right lists the page's sections. Click one to jump to it.
• Search is at the top. Click it, or press Ctrl and K together (⌘ and K on a Mac), and type a word.

Words you don't know yet

Some words are underlined with dots, like terminal or harness. Those words are in the glossary, the course's list of terms and what they mean.

• Rest your mouse on the word to see what it means, in a small box, without leaving the page. Move the mouse away, or press Esc, to close it.
• Using the keyboard, press Tab until the word is selected, and the same box opens.
• Click the word to open its full entry in the glossary.
• On a phone or tablet, tapping the word opens the glossary page, because there is no mouse to rest on it. Use your browser's back button to return.

A word is linked the first time it appears on a page. After that, it is plain text, so look back up the page if you meet it again.

Steps for your computer

Some steps are different on macOS, Windows and Linux. Those steps come in sections with your system's name on them:

macOS

Click a system's name to open its section, like this one. Opening one closes the others, so you only see the steps for your computer.

Open the one for your computer, and ignore the rest.

Commands to type

When you need to type a command, the page says where to type it, in the line just above, and shows the command in a grey box:

echo "hello"

• Copy it instead of typing it. Move your mouse over the box, and a copy button appears at its top right. Click it, then paste into your terminal.
• Read what should happen. The line under each command says what you should see. If you see something else, stop there: the page usually says what to do.
• Long messages for your agent wrap onto several lines. Commands never do: a command in a box is always one line, even if it is long.

Boxes that ask for your attention

Coloured boxes mark things you shouldn't skip:

NOTE

Something useful to know, or a page you can skip.

TIP

A shortcut or a better way to do the step.

WARNING

Something that can go wrong, or that you can't undo. Read it before you carry on.

IMPORTANT

Something you must do, or the next steps won't work.

Pictures and diagrams

• Click a screenshot to see it full size. Click again, or press Esc, to close it.
• Diagrams show how the parts of a system talk to each other. If one is wider than your screen, scroll it sideways.

Light or dark

The switch at the top of the page changes the site between light and dark. Pick whichever is easier on your eyes. The site remembers your choice.

Next

You're ready. Start the course: Building community agents with NanoClaw.