Prerequisites¶

Install these before following any LessonKit tutorial.

Node.js and npm¶

Use this table as the single source of truth for Node.js version requirements. Other pages link here instead of repeating version rules.

Your situation	Node.js	Supported?
New project — `npx @lessonkit/cli init`, Vite 8 scaffold, local dev	20.19+	Required
Existing course — `lessonkit dev`, `build`, `package` only	20.19+ recommended; 18+ minimum	Packaging-only legacy CI at your risk
Monorepo contributor — CI, Playwright e2e, docs build	20.19+	CI runs Node 20 only

Summary: New project → 20.19+. Existing course packaging-only on legacy CI → 18++ at your risk (not supported for lessonkit init).

Install Node.js LTS and npm (bundled with Node).

LessonKit courses are Vite + React + TypeScript apps. Basic familiarity with JSX, components, and npm run dev is enough for the 5-minute guide.

If you are new to React, see Learn React first or use vibe coding instead — you do not need to study React first on that path.

Goal	What to do
Build a course	`npx @lessonkit/cli init my-course` — no clone required
Run monorepo examples or contribute	Clone github.com/eddiethedean/lessonkit

Monorepo examples use file:../../packages/* workspace links. Do not copy that pattern into your own course repo.

Tool	When you need it
Git	Version control for your course repo
LMS staging environment	SCORM smoke test after LMS Go-Live
Python 3.12 + pip	Building LessonKit docs locally (contributor docs on GitHub)