Module 2: AI Toolkit Setup

Before we start scraping, we need to set up the right tools. This module walks you through installing Python, VSCode, and Scrapy.

Required Tools

Step 1: Install Python

Windows

1. Go to python.org/downloads
2. Download Python 3.11 or 3.12 (latest stable)
3. Run installer, check “Add Python to PATH”
4. Click “Install Now”

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install python3

Linux

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip

Verify Installation

python --version
pip --version

You should see Python 3.8+ and pip installed.

Step 2: Install VSCode

1. Go to code.visualstudio.com
2. Download for your operating system
3. Install with default options

Recommended VSCode Extensions

• Python (by Microsoft) - Syntax highlighting, linting
• Python Debugger - Debug Python code
• Markdown All in One - Preview markdown files

Open VSCode → Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X) → Search and install each.

Step 3: Terminal Access

Windows Options

• GitBash (comes with Git) - Recommended
• Windows Terminal (from Microsoft Store)
• PowerShell (built-in)

macOS/Linux

• Use the built-in Terminal app

Basic Terminal Commands

pwd                    # Print working directory
ls                     # List files
cd foldername          # Change directory
mkdir myproject        # Make directory

Step 4: Install Scrapy

Scrapy is Python’s most powerful web scraping framework.

pip install scrapy

Verify Scrapy Installation

scrapy --version

You should see Scrapy 2.x installed.

Step 5: Download Scrapy Documentation

Scrapy’s official docs (docs.scrapy.org) offer downloadable markdown versions:

1. Go to docs.scrapy.org
2. Look for download options (typically in the sidebar or footer)
3. Download the markdown version
4. Extract to a folder like scrapy-docs/

If no direct download:

1. Use your browser to save pages as markdown
2. Or use Scrapy itself to scrape the docs (we’ll learn this in Module 3!)

Create Your Project Folder

mkdir ai-specialist-course
cd ai-specialist-course
mkdir scrapy-docs zapier-content chatbot-bundles

Your folder structure:

ai-specialist-course/
├── scrapy-docs/          # Scrapy manual content
├── zapier-content/       # Scraped Zapier help content
└── chatbot-bundles/      # Saved bot configurations

Troubleshooting

“Python not found” on Windows

• Re-run installer and check “Add to PATH”
• Or open terminal and use full path to python.exe

pip command not found

python -m pip install scrapy

Permission errors (macOS/Linux)

sudo pip install scrapy

Key Takeaways

1. Python is required for Scrapy - install 3.8 or higher
2. VSCode is your code editor - install Python extensions
3. Scrapy installs via pip - pip install scrapy
4. Download Scrapy docs from docs.scrapy.org

Next Steps

Now that your toolkit is ready, let’s learn Module 3: Web Scraping with Scrapy!