GitHub Account and Student Developer Pack

What GitHub Is

GitHub hosts Git repositories online. In this course, you’ll use it to receive assignment starter code, push your work, and submit it. GitHub Classroom (which we use) automates the process of creating private repos for each student.

Create a GitHub Account

If you already have a GitHub account, skip to Enable 2FA.

1. Go to https://github.com.
2. Click Sign up.
3. Use your EWU email (@eagles.ewu.edu) as your primary email. This makes the Student Developer Pack application faster.

Choose a professional username. Future employers will see this. Good examples: jdoner, jane-smith-dev, jsmith42. Bad examples: xX_dankCoder_Xx, throwaway12345. You can change it later, but it breaks existing links.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

GitHub requires 2FA. Set it up now if you haven’t.

1. Go to https://github.com/settings/security.
2. Under “Two-factor authentication,” click Enable.
3. Use an authenticator app (like Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator, or Authy). SMS works too but is less secure.
4. Save your recovery codes somewhere safe. If you lose your phone and your recovery codes, you lose access to your account.

Apply for the GitHub Student Developer Pack

This is free and gives you access to professional tools at no cost while you’re a student.

1. Go to https://education.github.com/pack.
2. Click “Get your pack” or “Sign up for Student Developer Pack.”
3. Select your @eagles.ewu.edu email. If you used a personal email for GitHub, add your .edu email first at github.com/settings/emails.
4. You’ll need to verify your student status. Options include:
   • A photo of your student ID
   • A screenshot of your class schedule
   • An enrollment verification letter
5. Applications are usually approved within a few hours to a few days.

What you get with the Student Developer Pack:

You don’t need any of these to complete the course, but Copilot in particular is worth setting up once you’re approved.

How GitHub Classroom Works

Here’s how assignments flow in this course:

1. I post an assignment link on Canvas (looks like https://classroom.github.com/a/...).
2. You click the link and accept the assignment.
3. GitHub Classroom creates a private repository just for you (e.g., cscd210-w26/lab01-yourname).
4. You clone that repo to your computer, write your code, commit, and push.
5. When you push, automated tests run on GitHub and show you which tests pass.
6. Your latest push before the deadline is your submission.

You don’t submit through Canvas. You submit by pushing to GitHub. The repo is private — only you and I can see it.

Authenticate VS Code with GitHub

So you don’t have to type credentials every time you push:

1. Open VS Code.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (macOS).
3. Type GitHub: Sign In and select it.
4. Follow the browser prompts to authorize VS Code.
5. Once signed in, VS Code can clone, push, and pull without asking for your password.

You can verify it worked:

git credential-manager github list

Or just try cloning a repo (next guide) — if it works without asking for a password, you’re authenticated.

Common Issues

“Your account has not been approved for the Student Developer Pack yet”

The application can take a few days. You don’t need it to start the course — it’s just for extra tools. Keep going with the setup.

“Permission denied” when pushing to a repo

You haven’t authenticated. Follow the VS Code sign-in steps above. If using the terminal directly, GitHub no longer accepts passwords — you need a Personal Access Token or SSH key, but the VS Code method is simpler.

“You don’t have access to this repository”

Make sure you accepted the assignment through the GitHub Classroom link. If you did and still can’t access it, let me know with your GitHub username.

Forgot to use your .edu email

You can add it as a secondary email: github.com/settings/emails. Then re-apply for the Student Developer Pack.

Next Step

Your GitHub account is ready. Next, learn how to clone a repository to get assignment code onto your computer.