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Give Devin access to your GitHub

Refer to the following GitHub Integration Guide for more information

  1. During onboarding follow the on-screen steps or go to Settings > Integrations to begin setting up the GitHub integration. Click on Connect.

  2. Select the repo(s) you’d like to integrate.

  3. If you cannot yet integrate your organization’s GitHub, integrate a personal GitHub account.

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Setup Devin’s development environment upfront. You’ll be able to start new Devin sessions from this point, every time.

Setting up Devin’s Workspace significantly improves Devin’s performance on your codebase. Imagine if every time you started a task, your laptop and part of your memory were wiped - that’s what happens to Devin without setup!

Follow these steps to get Devin onboarded. Start with the repository where most of your team works and where you want Devin’s contributions. Repositories can always be added at any point by going to Settings > Apps in GitHub to configure Devin’s repo access and at app.devin.ai/workspace to complete the environment setup. You may also watch our video tutorial on how to set up Devin’s Workspace to see the process in real time.

Each new repository you set up will be in the same environment, with folders for each specific project you are working on. Ensure that any global packages you install are compatible with each repository you are working with, and that you install and configure relevant programming language version managers (like nvm, rvm, or pyenv) and package managers (like npm, pip, or yarn) so that each of your repositories can run.

1

Clone

Clone the repository. This step will happen automatically once you connected your repositories.

2

Set Up

Set up the environment using VS Code in the Devin onboarding flow. Install the necessary dependencies, configure secrets and environment variables, and verify the code can run before moving to the next step.

The 3 minimal recommended steps are:

  • Install dependencies
  • Configure secrets / environment variables
  • Verify the code can run and that your linter and test suite pass
3

Upkeep

Set startup commands. Startup commands will run automatically in ~ (home directory) at the start of every Devin session. Note that they execute in the order you provide them during onboarding.

Tips:

  • Pull changes from git
  • Run your package manager installation (e.g. npm install)
  • DO NOT add commands that start long running processes (e.g. npm start) - each command has a 2 minute timeout!
4

Delivery

Establish success criteria commands like run lint (e.g. npm run lint), run formatting (e.g. npm run format), or run unit tests (e.g. npm run test). These commands help Devin sanity check its work before sharing deliverables with you.

Behind the scenes, all repositories you set up will co-exist on the same snapshot. Be careful about global package installations and consider using a virtual environment.

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Using Web Platforms

During repository setup, you can use the Browser tab to log in to any web platforms that Devin will need to interact with on your behalf. These session cookies will be stored in Devin’s Workspace and will be available to Devin in future sessions. If you are using a web platform that times out your login frequently, it would instead be better to set Devin up with credentials in your Secrets dashboard.

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Need to edit?

You can always edit or add a new repo in Settings > Devin’s Settings > Devin’s Workspace.

To edit an existing repo, click on it in Devin’s Workspace > click “edit” > click “Set up in VSCode”.

It is also possible to completely reset Devin’s machine state by going to your Settings > Devin’s Workspace tab, opening the Danger Zone dropdown, and using the ‘Reset machine setup’ option. Note that this will remove all repositories you have set up.

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All Done!

Congrats! You’ve onboarded Devin and can start building together. It’s time to start your first session. Keep in mind that Devin works best when you:

  • Tell Devin how to check its progress
  • Break down big tasks
  • Share detailed requirements upfront
  • Run multiple sessions in parallel

If you need support please don’t hesitate to drop us an email at support@cognition.ai.

Introducing DevinYour First Session