Getting Started with VIDA

Needs updating (6/3/25)

This guide will help new team members join the VIDA project and start contributing effectively.

See:

• VIDA Environment Setup Guide
• GRID VIDA AI Prompt Guide Draft 1.pdf

Developer Onboarding

1. Environment Setup

• Install VS Code with necessary extensions
• Configure UV package manager for Python dependency management
• Set up GitHub access and clone repositories
• Install Docker for containerization

2. Development Environment Configuration

• Set up virtual environment
• Install required dependencies
• Configure local settings

3. Repository Structure

• infrastructure-repo: Central location for all infrastructure code
• app-templates: Standardized Streamlit application templates
• alt-tag-generator: Accessibility tool for image descriptions
• syllabus-creator: Tool for generating course syllabi
• dashboard: Central VIDA dashboard application

4. First Contribution

• Pick a starter issue labeled "good first issue"
• Follow the git workflow for creating branches
• Submit a pull request following our guidelines
• Request code review from a team member

5. Communication Channels

• GitHub Discussions for technical questions
• [Team Communication Platform] for general communication
• Weekly sprint meetings (Tuesdays at 10am ET)