CAIL Spotlight Workshop #1
Foundations: Coding with Generative AI
Spring 2026
Developed by Stefano Morello, Zach Muhlbauer, Parisa Setayesh, and Stephen Zweibel
Developed by Stefano Morello, Zach Muhlbauer, Parisa Setayesh, and Stephen Zweibel
Workshop
Agenda
Part 1 — Coding & Development Basics
60m
Icebreaker
Demo
Inference as Coding Scaffold
Problematics of Agentic Coding
Setting up an IDE
The Command Line
Initializing a Git Repo
Part 1
Coding & Development Basics
Icebreaker · 10 min
Where does coding live in your imagination?
Pick one. Talk to a neighbor.
A
What would you create if coding felt as natural as writing?
B
What do you wish your computer could do for your research?
Demo
Vibe Coding in Action
Live walkthrough: building something from scratch with an AI coding agent
Watch how a conversation with Gemini CLI turns a plain-language idea into working code — step by step, inside VS Code.
Concept
Inference as Coding Scaffold
Concept
Problematics of Agentic Coding
Setup
Setting up an Interactive Development Environment
1
Download + install VS Code
2
Sign in with your GitHub profile
3
Add the GitHub extension; start tracking your project
4
Open the integrated terminal — this is where CLI + Git live
Concept
What is VS Code?
A free code editor that works like a smart writing desk for programmers
It highlights your code, catches errors, and connects to tools like Git and AI assistants — all in one window.
Why VS Code?
- Free, open-source, and runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux
- Built-in terminal, Git support, and thousands of extensions
- Where AI coding agents (like Gemini CLI) do their work
Concept
What is the Command Line?
A text-based interface for controlling your computer
Instead of clicking buttons and icons, you type commands.
Why use it?
- More powerful and precise control
- Essential for development work
- How AI coding agents interact with your system
Setup
Opening Your Terminal
macOS
Terminal
1. Press Cmd + Space
2. Type "Terminal"
3. Press Return
2. Type "Terminal"
3. Press Return
Windows
PowerShell
1. Press the Windows key
2. Type "PowerShell"
3. Press Enter
2. Type "PowerShell"
3. Press Enter
Tool
Command Line Basics
# make a new folder
mkdir my-project
mkdir my-project
# move into it
cd my-project
# go up one level
cd ..
# create a file
touch index.html
# move file into folder
mv index.html my-project
# move into it
cd my-project
# list files
ls
Concept
What is Git? What is GitHub?
Local
Git
A version control system that runs on your computer.
Tracks every change to your files so you can go back in time, undo mistakes, and work in parallel.
Tracks every change to your files so you can go back in time, undo mistakes, and work in parallel.
Cloud
GitHub
A website that stores your Git repositories online.
Share code, collaborate with others, and host websites — all from your browser.
Share code, collaborate with others, and host websites — all from your browser.
Tool
Initializing a Git Repo
# initialize a repo
git init
git init
# stage your changes
git add .
# save a snapshot
git commit -m "first commit"
# push to GitHub
git push origin main
# view history
git log --oneline
# check what changed
git status
Setup
Logging into GitHub
1
Install the GitHub CLI:brew install gh # macOS
winget install GitHub.cli # Windows
2
Start login from your terminal:gh auth login
3
Choose GitHub.com → HTTPS → Login with a web browser
4
Copy the one-time code, press Enter, and approve in the browser window that opens
5
Back in your terminal you'll see: ✓ Logged in as your-username
Setup
Staging, Committing, and Pushing to GitHub
1
Create a README file:touch README.md
2
Stage your files:git add README.md
3
Commit your changes:git commit -m "first commit"
4
Create a GitHub repo:gh repo create my-project --public --source=.
5
Push your code to GitHub:git push -u origin main
6
Visit github.com/your-username/my-project to see it live
Part 2
Installation & Setup
Getting Gemini CLI running on your machine
Setup
Installing Gemini CLI
Windows
PowerShell
1. Install Node.js LTS from nodejs.org
2. Reopen PowerShell
3. Install Gemini CLI: npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
2. Reopen PowerShell
3. Install Gemini CLI: npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
macOS
Terminal
1. Install Homebrew from brew.sh
2. Add Homebrew to PATH: echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' \ >> ~/.zprofile eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)" 3. Install Gemini CLI: brew install gemini-cli
2. Add Homebrew to PATH: echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' \ >> ~/.zprofile eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)" 3. Install Gemini CLI: brew install gemini-cli
Setup
Login Setup
1
Run
gemini in your terminal to start authentication2
Choose "Login with Google" and follow the browser prompt
3
Free tier: 60 requests/min · 1,000 requests/day
?
Having technical issues? Just ask!
Check-in
Troubleshooting
Having trouble installing or logging in?
VS Code, GitHub CLI, Git, Gemini CLI — if anything didn't work, now's the time to fix it together.
- Raise your hand — we'll come to you
- Help a neighbor if you're all set
- No issue too small to ask about
Exit Ticket
What's Your Next Move?
What's Next
What's Next
1
Vibe-Coding Prototypes
Tuesday, March 10 · 4:00–5:30 pm
Use AI from the command line to build a small prototype. We'll model prompting, project design, and troubleshooting — then you'll customize a feature of your own.
Tuesday, March 10 · 4:00–5:30 pm
Use AI from the command line to build a small prototype. We'll model prompting, project design, and troubleshooting — then you'll customize a feature of your own.
2
Register for the next workshop
Prerequisite: this workshop, or prior familiarity with the command line and Git/GitHub
Prerequisite: this workshop, or prior familiarity with the command line and Git/GitHub
3
In the meantime: experiment with Gemini CLI on your own!
Try building a small page, asking it to explain code, or exploring a new idea from your terminal.
Try building a small page, asking it to explain code, or exploring a new idea from your terminal.
Resources
Links & References
-
ailab.gc.cuny.edu
CUNY AI Lab — home page, announcements, and model notes
-
ailab.gc.cuny.edu/resources
CAIL Resources: Model Registry, Support Docs, and Workshop Material
-
chat.ailab.gc.cuny.edu
CAIL Sandbox (Open WebUI): Self-Hosted Chat Platform for Teaching and Research
-
tools.ailab.gc.cuny.edu
CAIL Tools: Toolset for Multimedia Processing and Agentic Coding
-
newmedialab.cuny.edu
CUNY New Media Lab — workshop series host
-
aitoolkit.gc.commons.edu
GC AI Toolkit — curated tools and resources for the Graduate Center community
-
github.com/cuny-ai-lab
CUNY AI Lab on GitHub — open source repos, workshop decks, datasets
-
cuny-ai-lab.github.io/Vibe-Coding-Workshop
Vibe Coding Workshop deck — companion CAIL workshop
-
code.visualstudio.com/docs
VS Code documentation — setup, extensions, integrated terminal
-
github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli
Gemini CLI — open-source AI coding agent that runs in your terminal
-
developers.googleblog.com/gemini-cli-vs-code…
Gemini CLI + VS Code — native diffing and context-aware workflows
-
docs.github.com
GitHub documentation — repos, Pages, pull requests, Actions