Project Setup

This is the first step of your capstone project.

You will create the project structure and confirm that your application runs correctly before building features.

Goal of This Lesson

By the end of this lesson, you will:

• create your project folder
• organize files like a real application
• run your first working file

Step 1: Create Project Folder

Open your terminal and run:

mkdir productivity_app
cd productivity_app

Step 2: Create Project Structure

Create main folders:

mkdir app tests
touch main.py

Inside app, create subfolders:

mkdir app/models app/services app/ui

Final Structure

productivity_app/
    app/
        models/
        services/
        ui/
    tests/
    main.py

Step 3: Create First Program

Open main.py and add:

def main():
    print("Productivity App Started")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Step 4: Run Your Program

In terminal:

python main.py

Expected output:

Productivity App Started

Why This Step Matters

This confirms:

• your environment is working correctly
• your project structure is valid
• you are ready to begin development

Step 5: (Optional but Recommended) Create Virtual Environment

Create virtual environment:

python -m venv venv

Activate it:

Windows

venv\Scripts\activate

Mac/Linux

source venv/bin/activate

Summary

You created the project structure and verified that your application runs successfully.

This is the foundation for everything that follows.

Next Step

Now we move into the real build phase:

lesson-2-database-setup.md

This is where your application becomes real (SQLite + tables).