Step 2
Pick your editor and AI tier
What you're about to do
Install the program you'll use to view and edit your app's files — and decide which AI plan will do the actual work with you.
Why it matters
Code lives in text files. A code editor is just a text editor optimized for code — like Microsoft Word but for app files. The AI plan is the part people get wrong: every free tier runs out partway through setup, and finding that out at 11pm on a Saturday is how founders quit.
What you'll need
A computer (Mac or Windows). A credit card, if you take our advice on the AI tier below. 15 minutes.
Which AI tier — read this first
You'll be using an AI coding assistant to write and modify your code. That's the whole workflow this boilerplate is built for. So before you pick an editor, pick what's going to power it.
Every major AI coding tool's free tier caps out around 50 AI requests per month. Setting up Supabase, wiring Stripe, and getting your first deploy out — the things this guide walks you through — can burn 50 requests in a single afternoon. So plan on a paid tier from day one. That's the honest expectation, not a surprise we spring on you in Step 6.
Ranked by value for a first-time founder:
| Option | Cost | Why pick this |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot Pro + VS Code | $10/mo | The cheapest plan that will actually get you through setup. Unlimited code completions, a much larger request budget, and you can pick Claude Sonnet 5 as your model. Recommended if you're not sure. |
| Claude Pro (with Claude Code) | $20/mo | Includes Claude Code, which works in your terminal or inside VS Code. This is the stack Coding Capybaras itself is built with. |
| Cursor Pro | $20/mo | Popular, and a genuinely nice editor. Twice the price of Copilot Pro for a broadly similar experience. |
| Any free tier | $0 | Fine for poking around. Will not get you to the end of this guide. |
All of these bill monthly and are easy to cancel. You can pay for one month, ship your app, and reassess.
Which editor — either one works
VS Code and Cursor are the two friendliest choices. Both are free downloads, and the rest of this guide works with either. Pick the one that matches the AI tier you just chose:
VS Code — if you picked Copilot Pro, Claude Pro, or Claude Code
VS Code is a free code editor made by Microsoft. It has no AI built in on its own — you add it. Copilot plugs straight into it (which is why it's the cheapest total setup), and Claude Code works either in your terminal or as a VS Code extension.
Cursor — if you picked Cursor Pro
Cursor is a code editor with AI built in. You chat with it in a panel next to your code and it edits your files directly. It's a bundled, polished version of what VS Code plus Copilot gives you, at twice the price.
Whichever you install, the rest of this guide works the same. We'll call out any differences when they matter.
Install Cursor (if you picked it)
- Visit cursor.com
- Click the Download for macOS button (Cursor auto-detects your computer)
- When the
.dmgfile downloads, double-click it - Drag the Cursor icon into your Applications folder
- Open Cursor from your Applications folder (or use Spotlight: press Cmd+Space, type “Cursor”, press Enter)
- The first time you open it, your Mac may ask if you really want to open a program from the internet — click Open
Install VS Code (if you picked it)
- Visit code.visualstudio.com
- Click Download for macOS
- When the
.zipfile downloads, double-click it to unzip - Drag the Visual Studio Code icon into your Applications folder
- Open VS Code from Applications (or Spotlight: Cmd+Space, type “Visual Studio Code”)
How to verify it worked
After install, your editor should open to a welcome screen. You'll see something like:
- A sidebar on the left (this will show your files once you have a project open)
- A main area in the middle (this will show file contents)
- Menus at the top
If you see that, you're good.
What to do if something went wrong▾
Problem: Download didn't start.
Try a different browser. Sometimes Safari or older versions of Chrome have issues with these downloads.
Problem: Installer won't open on Mac.
Right-click the installer file and choose “Open” instead of double-clicking. Your Mac sometimes blocks programs from unknown developers — right-click bypasses that.
Problem: Windows shows a security warning.
Click “More info” → “Run anyway.” Microsoft sometimes flags new programs from small developers. Both Cursor and VS Code are safe — VS Code is made by Microsoft itself.
Problem: It opens but looks confusing.
That's expected. Don't try to figure it out yet — we'll use it together in later steps. Just leave it open and move on.
If you're stuck, click Support at the top of this page.