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Environment Setup

Mitch Mommers16/05/2026About 4 min

Day 1 - Getting Started

Before we start the Day 1 labs, make sure your local development environment is ready.

By the end of this setup, you should have:

  • Visual Studio Code installed
  • Git installed
  • Azure CLI installed and working
  • Terraform installed and working
  • Access to the Azure Portal
  • Azure CLI logged in to the correct tenant and subscription
  • The course repository available locally

This setup prepares you for the Day 1 Identity and Access labs, where you will work with Azure resources, Terraform, RBAC, managed identities, and Key Vault. The broader course environment uses a small Azure lab setup with services such as App Service, Storage Account, Key Vault, Log Analytics, and Application Insights. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

1. Install GoW on Windows

On Windows, we need Linux-compatible command-line utilities, especially zip.

Install GoW - GNU on Windows:

https://github.com/bmatzelle/gow/releases

GoW provides common GNU/Linux tools on Windows.

Alternative

Using Docker, WSL, or Git Bash is also fine, as long as you can create Linux-compatible zip files when needed.

2. Install Azure CLI

Azure CLI is required to interact with Azure from your terminal.

Install Azure CLI by following the official instructions for your operating system:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli

On Windows, the easiest option is usually PowerShell with winget:

winget install --exact --id Microsoft.AzureCLI

After installation, close and reopen your terminal.

Verify the installation:

az version

3. Log in to the Azure Portal

Open the Azure Portal:

https://portal.azure.com

Make sure you can log in with the account provided for this course.

4. Set up MFA

Multi-factor authentication may be required before you can continue.

Open the MFA setup page:

https://portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Resources/ArmMfaSettings.ReactView

Follow the instructions in the portal.

Warning

Do not skip this step if Azure asks you to configure MFA. Without MFA, some Azure actions may fail later during the labs.

5. Install Visual Studio Code

Download and install Visual Studio Code:

https://code.visualstudio.com/

We will use VS Code as the main editor for the course.

6. Install recommended VS Code extensions

Install the following extensions in VS Code:

Extensions tab in vscode
Figuur 0: Extensions tab in vscode

Search and install the following extensions follow instructions if applicable:

Azure Tools
Microsoft Terraform
HashiCorp Terraform
GitLens
Azure Resources
PowerShell

Some of these may already be included when installing the Azure Tools or Microsoft Terraform extension packs.

Optional but useful extensions:

YAML
Markdown All in One

7. Install Git

Download and install Git:

https://git-scm.com/install/windows

After installation, close and reopen your terminal.

Verify the installation:

git --version

8. Install Terraform

Download Terraform:

https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/install

Install Terraform for your operating system.

On Windows, this usually means:

  1. Download the Terraform executable.
  2. Extract it to a folder on your computer.
  3. Add that folder to your PATH.
  4. Close and reopen PowerShell or your terminal.

Verify the installation:

terraform --version

9. Check your local tools

Open a terminal in VS Code and run:

git --version
az version
terraform --version

You should see version information for all three tools.

If one of these commands fails, fix the installation before continuing.

10. Log in with Azure CLI

Run:

az login

A browser window will open. Log in with your course Azure account.

After logging in, check your current Azure account:

az account show --output table

Check the following values:

  • Subscription name
  • Subscription ID
  • Tenant ID
  • Signed-in user

11. Select the correct subscription

If your account has access to multiple subscriptions, list them:

az account list --output table

Set the correct subscription:

az account set --subscription "<SUBSCRIPTION_ID_OR_NAME>"

Verify the active subscription again:

az account show --output table

Warning

Always check the active subscription before running Terraform or Azure CLI commands. Running commands against the wrong subscription can create resources in the wrong environment or cause unnecessary costs.

12. Enable Azure CLI tab completion in PowerShell

Azure CLI tab completion can make working in PowerShell easier.

Open your PowerShell profile in VS Code:

code $PROFILE

Add the following code:

Register-ArgumentCompleter -Native -CommandName az -ScriptBlock {
    param($commandName, $wordToComplete, $cursorPosition)
    $completion_file = New-TemporaryFile
    $env:ARGCOMPLETE_USE_TEMPFILES = 1
    $env:_ARGCOMPLETE_STDOUT_FILENAME = $completion_file
    $env:COMP_LINE = $wordToComplete
    $env:COMP_POINT = $cursorPosition
    $env:_ARGCOMPLETE = 1
    $env:_ARGCOMPLETE_SUPPRESS_SPACE = 0
    $env:_ARGCOMPLETE_IFS = "`n"
    $env:_ARGCOMPLETE_SHELL = 'powershell'
    az 2>&1 | Out-Null
    Get-Content $completion_file | Sort-Object | ForEach-Object {
        [System.Management.Automation.CompletionResult]::new($_, $_, "ParameterValue", $_)
    }
    Remove-Item $completion_file, Env:\_ARGCOMPLETE_STDOUT_FILENAME, Env:\ARGCOMPLETE_USE_TEMPFILES, Env:\COMP_LINE, Env:\COMP_POINT, Env:\_ARGCOMPLETE, Env:\_ARGCOMPLETE_SUPPRESS_SPACE, Env:\_ARGCOMPLETE_IFS, Env:\_ARGCOMPLETE_SHELL
}

Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key Tab -Function MenuComplete

Save the file, then restart PowerShell.

Source:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli-windows?view=azure-cli-latest&pivots=winget#enable-tab-completion-in-powershell

13. Install Docker

Docker may be useful later in the course.

At this moment, Docker is optional.

Install Docker Desktop if instructed by your teacher:

https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/

Tips

If Docker is not needed for a specific lab, you can skip this for now.

14. Final setup checklist

Before continuing, make sure you can check off the following items:

[ ] Visual Studio Code is installed.
[ ] Git is installed and works.
[ ] Azure CLI is installed and works.
[ ] Terraform is installed and works.
[ ] I can log in to the Azure Portal.
[ ] MFA is configured if required.
[ ] I can run az login.
[ ] I have selected the correct Azure subscription.
[ ] I can run az account show --output table.
[ ] I am ready to clone or open the course repository.

15. Troubleshooting

Azure CLI is not recognized

Close and reopen your terminal.

If the problem remains, check whether Azure CLI was added to your system PATH.

Terraform is not recognized

Make sure the folder containing the Terraform executable is added to your PATH.

After changing PATH, close and reopen your terminal.

I am logged in to the wrong Azure tenant or subscription

Run:

az account list --output table

Then select the correct subscription:

az account set --subscription "<SUBSCRIPTION_ID_OR_NAME>"

Check again:

az account show --output table

Azure asks for MFA

Complete the MFA setup in the Azure Portal before continuing.

PowerShell tab completion does not work

Restart PowerShell after editing your profile.

You can also continue without tab completion. It is helpful, but not required. If needed you can ask help 😃

Contributors: Mitch Mommers