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Chapter 2: Getting Started

This chapter walks you through accounts, tools, and the checklist for your first week.

Account Setup

By the end of day one, you should have access to:

  • [ ] Company email (you@jacobi.com)
  • [ ] Slack workspace
  • [ ] Project tracker
  • [ ] Source-code repositories (GitHub org)
  • [ ] Password manager (1Password team vault)
  • [ ] VPN credentials

If anything is missing, contact IT via the #it-help Slack channel or it@jacobi.com.

!!! info "Access takes up to 24 hours" Some systems (particularly the VPN and code repositories) may take up to 24 hours to propagate after IT provisions your account. If you are still missing access on day two, follow up.

Development Environment

For engineers, set up your local environment by cloning the bootstrap repo and running the setup script:

# Clone the internal bootstrap repo
git clone https://github.com/jacobi-internal/dev-bootstrap.git
cd dev-bootstrap

# Run the automated setup
./setup.sh

The script installs required tooling, configures your shell, and runs a smoke test to confirm everything is working.

!!! note "macOS and Linux only" The setup.sh script targets macOS and Linux. Windows users should use WSL2 — see the README-windows.md file in the same repo.

Security Baseline

Every team member must complete these steps before accessing production systems:

  1. Enable full-disk encryption (FileVault on macOS, BitLocker on Windows)
  2. Set a screen lock timeout of 5 minutes or less
  3. Enable two-factor authentication on your company email and GitHub account
  4. Read and acknowledge the Data Handling Policy in the HR portal
# Verify FileVault is enabled (macOS)
fdesetup status
# Expected output: FileVault is On.

!!! danger "Never commit secrets to version control" API keys, passwords, and tokens must never appear in a git commit — not even in a private repo. Use environment variables or a secrets manager. Violations are treated as security incidents.

Your First Week Checklist

Day Goal
Day 1 Finish account setup, meet your manager and buddy, read this course
Day 2–3 Shadow your team's daily standup, read your project's README
Day 4–5 Make a small, low-risk contribution (docs fix, minor bug, test)
Week 2 Take ownership of a defined task with your manager's guidance

The goal of week one is context, not output. Ask questions freely — your teammates expect it and welcome it.