🚀 Week 1 of Fab Academy – A Wild Ride!
🌐 Setting Up My Website – Wait, What?!
The first week of Fab Academy hit me like a truck—I had to set up my own website?!
Excuse me... Git? MkDocs? What? How? Huh? 🤯
After an existential crisis and about five minutes of staring blankly at my screen, I snapped out of it. I remembered I had some working knowledge of HTML and, more importantly, amazing mentors to guide me through.
🎥 Learning the Basics
I dove deep into:
📌 Recitations by Julian
📌 A bunch of YouTube tutorials to understand Git, MkDocs, the terminal, and so much more
But the biggest hurdle? I was the only one using Mac while my co-fab-mates were Windows warriors 🛡️. Every step required translating their process into what I had to do on my machine.
One evening, I sat down for five hours with my mentors and Fab-mates to get my site up. What a night! 🌙☕
🍏 How to Get Your Site Running on a Mac (Without Losing Your Hair!)
🏗️ Step 1: Installing Homebrew
Since Apple does things its own way, the standard protocols for setting up a website don’t apply. The first step? Installing Homebrew.
To install, run this command in the terminal:
⚠️ The installation will ask for your system passcode—what you type won’t be visible for security reasons. (Don’t make typos! 😬)
🛠️ Step 2: Installing Git Through Homebrew
Once Homebrew was installed, I moved ahead and installed Git:
💡 Tip: The $ sign you see in tutorials isn't part of the command—just type brew install git directly!
🔑 Step 3: Generating an SSH Key
To edit your site, you need an SSH key to authorize your local machine to make changes.
🔗 Step 4: Adding the SSH Key to GitLab
Once I had my SSH key, I had to add it to GitLab to enable secure access.
🐍 Step 5: Installing Python + Pip
With SSH in place, I moved on to installing and setting up Python.
If you install the latest Python version, pip (the package manager) will be included. If not, you can manually install it:
📦 Step 6: Installing MkDocs + Material Theme
We’re in the final stretch—woohoo! 🎉
I used Python to install MkDocs:
MkDocs is a platform for building static documentation sites, but Material for MkDocs makes them interactive, adding images, videos, navigation, animations, and more!
🔁 Step 7: Cloning the Repository & First Push
Now that everything was configured, I had to:
git clone git@gitlab.fabcloud.org:your-repo.git
cd your-repo
git add .
git commit -m "First commit!"
git push origin main
1. Clone my GitLab repository
2. Make my first commit
3. Push it live!
🚀 Boom! My site was officially live!
🎨 Designing My Site
With my setup complete, it was time to actually make my site look good.
But guess what? Dumbstruck again! 😵
That's when I stumbled upon James Willett’s YouTube tutorial and blog—an absolute lifesaver. 💡
With his help, I figured out how to:
✅ Create new pages
✅ Set up navigation
✅ Add admonitions (fancy alert boxes!)
Look out
Creating websites on a Mac is not for the weak hearted
✅ Include images & media
🖼️ Image Compression – The Unexpected Challenge
The biggest challenge now? Compressing images without losing quality.
That’s when Shefali Ma’am, currently doing the Fabricademy course, suggested using XN Convert for compression. 🎯
XN Convert Interface
Adding files
I:
1. Dialed in the settings
2. Ran the batch conversion
3. Coded in the image paths
4. 💥 My first image was up on the site!
Markdown Syntax
I used ChatGPT to derive a standard template for documentation using the assessment criteria provided. This is the result that I got:
Title: [Project Title]
1. Introduction:
* Objective: Clearly state the goal of the assignment.
* Background: Provide context or relevant information leading to the project.
2. Materials and Tools:
* Materials: List all materials used, including specifications and sources.
* Tools and Equipment: Detail the tools and equipment utilized, specifying any particular settings or configurations.
3. Design and Planning:
* Conceptualization: Describe the initial idea and design considerations.
* Sketches and Diagrams: Include any preliminary sketches or diagrams.
* Design Files: Provide links to design files with version control (e.g., GitHub or GitLab repositories).
4. Fabrication Process:
* Step-by-Step Procedure: Detail each step taken during fabrication, accompanied by photos or videos.
* Machine Settings: Specify settings used on machines (e.g., laser cutter speed and power).
5. Testing and Evaluation:
* Testing Procedures: Explain how the project was tested.
* Results: Document the outcomes, including any data collected.
* Analysis: Discuss the results and any insights gained.
6. Challenges and Solutions:
* Issues Encountered: Describe any problems faced during the project.
* Resolutions: Explain how these issues were addressed.
7. Conclusion:
* Summary: Recap the project and its outcomes.
* Future Improvements: Suggest potential enhancements or next steps.
8. References:
* Cite any external resources, tutorials, or references used.
9. Acknowledgments:
* Recognize any assistance or collaboration from others.
Use this template and arrange the information I am giving in this format. Don't change the tone of voice or summarize the text. Add emojis to add life to the text.
Pro-Tip: You can just copy-paste the text. VS code will comprehend it as markdown.
🎵 The Final Push – One Night, Music & Snacks!
Now all that was left?
🎧 A full night of listening to music
🍫 Snacking to stay awake
💾 Committing & pushing my changes
And just like that, my Week 1 documentation was complete! 🚀
💡 Takeaways from Week 1:
✔️ Git and MkDocs aren’t as scary as they seem!
✔️ Having good mentors makes all the difference.
✔️ Mac users need to tweak things a lot!
✔️ There’s nothing a long night of music & snacks can’t fix! 🎶✨
On to Week 2—let’s go! 💪🔥