The Materials Repo includes two ready-to-use project templates. Before you write a single line of code for any new project, grab the right one and drop it into your mono-repo.

Which Template Do I Use?

Template Use When
p5-only/ You're building a browser-based sketch with no physical hardware
p5-arduino/ You're connecting an Arduino to your sketch via Serial

If you're not doing anything with hardware, p5-only/ is always the right starting point.

Where Do They Live in Your Repo?

Templates slot into your mono-repo like this:

dm2008-firstname-lastname-ay2526-s1/
├── 01-activities/
│   └── week-10/
│       └── p5-only/        ← duplicated template, renamed
├── 02-mini-project/
│   └── p5-only/            ← duplicated template, renamed
├── 03-sensor-jam/
│   └── p5-arduino/         ← duplicated template, renamed
└── 04-final-project/
    └── p5-only/            ← duplicated template, renamed

Each project or activity gets its own copy of the template. The originals in starter_templates/ always stay untouched.

How to Use a Template

  1. Open the DM2008 Materials Repo and navigate to starter_templates/
  2. Download the repo if you haven't already (covered in the GitHub Desktop guide)
  3. Duplicate the folder you need — never edit the original
  4. Rename the copy to something descriptive (e.g. week-10-controls, mini-project-pong)
  5. Move it into the correct folder in your mono-repo
  6. Open the folder in VS Code and launch Live Server on index.html
  7. Start coding in sketch.js