Quantum Computing Summer School

NU Quantum Competition Lab Setup Guide

Welcome! This page will guide you through setting up your programming environment for the Air Quality Quantum Computing course. Please follow each step in order.

1. Install Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free, powerful code editor. You’ll use it for all your Python and Jupyter work.

Download VS Code
  1. Download and install VS Code for your operating system.
  2. Open VS Code:
    • Windows: Click the Start menu, type Visual Studio Code, and press Enter.
    • Linux/macOS: Find "Visual Studio Code" in your applications menu, or run code in your terminal if added to PATH.
  3. Install Extensions:
    • Click the Extensions icon (🧩) on the left sidebar or press Ctrl+Shift+X (Cmd+Shift+X on Mac).
    • Search for Python (by Microsoft) and click Install.
    • Search for Jupyter (by Microsoft) and click Install.
VS Code Extensions Install Example

2. Install Anaconda (or Miniconda)

You need Anaconda or Miniconda to manage Python environments and packages.

Windows

Anaconda for Windows Miniconda for Windows

Linux / macOS

Anaconda for Linux/macOS Miniconda for Linux/macOS
  1. Download the installer for your platform.
  2. Follow the installation instructions.
  3. Windows: Tick “Add Anaconda to my PATH environment variable” during installation, or run conda init after.
  4. Restart your terminal or Anaconda Prompt after installation.
Note: If you see "conda not found" errors later, try running from the Anaconda Prompt or restart your terminal after running conda init.

3. Download and Run the Environment Setup Script

Windows

⊞ Download Windows script
  1. Download the Windows setup script from the link provided by your instructor.
  2. If needed, edit the script to add or change dependencies.
  3. Double-click the script to run it.
  4. If you see "conda is not recognized" error:
    • Open Anaconda Prompt (not regular Command Prompt).
    • Navigate to the script folder and run:
      create_env_windows.bat

Linux / macOS

🐧 Download Linux script
  1. Download the Linux/macOS setup script from the link provided by your instructor.
  2. Open a terminal in the script’s folder.
  3. Make the script executable:
    chmod +x create_env_linux.sh
  4. Run the script:
    ./create_env_linux.sh
  5. Follow any prompts to complete the setup.
Tip: If you get a “Permission denied” error, make sure you ran chmod +x create_env_linux.sh first.

Troubleshooting & Help