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1. Project Management and Documentation

The journey begins!

The first week of Fab Academy 2025 began with an inspiring session led by Professor Neil, attended by over 200 participants from across the globe. It was an incredible experience to connect with the diverse Fab Lab communities worldwide. In the session Professor Neil told the ins and outs of Fablab’s development. How Fablab develops in all corners of the world in order to create something. As Fab Academy students, we were introduced to the roadmap for the program and were reminded of the importance of active participation in all scheduled activities. To graduate successfully, students are required to sign the Student Agreement. The big takeaway? Mastering time management and keeping rock-solid documentation.

Project Management

This week I started getting used to the documentation process —something I’m not exactly used to. I’ve always had the habit of just getting things done without writing them down, so this is a bit of a challenge for me. My instructors from Riidl (thanks to Jesal Sir and Pranav Sir) always say Document, document, document!!! It's now become my mantra, and I’m working hard to make it my new habit.

Part 1: Understanding Git and GitLab

At first, I had no idea what Git and GitLab were, so like any curious human, I Googled it to figure it out.My Understandings from this:

Git:

  • A tool to track changes in files (mainly code) over time.
  • Lets multiple people work on the same project without overwriting each other’s work.
  • Saves a history of changes so you can go back to previous versions.

Gitlab:

  • A platform that hosts Git repositories online.
  • Lets teams collaborate, share, and work on code together.

Part 2: WEB IDE

At the beginning, I decided to experiment with the Web IDE repository just to get a feel for how things worked and what the platform was all about. Since I was new to it, this was more of a trial run to see if my website would actually go live.

Part 3: Using Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a popular text editor for web developers because it offers a lot of useful features and extensions that make web development easier.

  • Open the local repository file

  • Setting and customize the web : mkdock.yml

Part 4: Git set-up and Repo Local Cloning

To clone a Git repository to your local machine, open the terminal in VS Code. Then, go to the folder where you want to store the repository. Once you’re in the right directory, use the command git clone followed by the repository's HTTPS URL. This will create a local copy of the repository on your machine.

Then in your local machine, you replace the example URL with the actual URL of the repository you want to clone. After running the git clone command, Git will download the entire repository and create an exact copy on your computer. Now, your local copy of the repository is connected to the one on the web (like your Web IDE repo). This means when you make changes on your local copy.

Part 5: Generating SSH key

SSH key is an authentication method that is used to access an encrypted connection between systems and finally use that connection to manage the remote systems.

Then I created the SSH key.

Next, I went to GitLab and navigated to my account settings. Under "Preferences," I found the "SSH Keys" section and added a new key. To do this, I copied the SSH key I had generated earlier using the Git commands and pasted it into the provided field. This allows GitLab to securely recognize my computer when I push or pull changes from the repository without needing to enter my username and password every time.

Part 6: Enter Markdown

My professor suggested using Markdown to make life easier, especially for documentation projects. While it’s a bit limited when it comes to themes and customization, it’s fast and efficient. It’s perfect for this kind of project because it's straightforward for what I need.

  • First we need to install Python. We can download at : Python Download Make sure you check Add Python to PATH. This is so that we can use python using the Command Prompt or Powershell.

  • Then, we need to install pip

  • Creating a new project in mkdocs: mkdocs new my-project

  • Once installing Mkdocs, open the terminal and navigate to the directory where you want to initiate the Mkdocs project. Run the command mkdocs new project-name. This creates a basic project structure with a configuration file (mkdocs.yml) and a ‘docs’ folder for your Markdown files.

Part 7: Git commit, Git Push

After setting up your website with Mkdocs and cloning your Web IDE repo to your local repo, every time you make changes in your text editor (like VS Code), you need to add, commit, and push those changes.

Part 8: Student agreement

To finish the student agreement, I downloaded the text content from my senior's Fab Academy account and uploaded the signed copy

Sharvari Akerkar- Student Agreement