Get MSYS2 from http://msys2.github.io/
You almost certainly want the x86_64 installer. Following the instructions at the download site, and using the installer defaults should result in a generally worky MSYS2 intall.
Make sure to run the command line steps for updating the MSYS2 package database and pacman!
If you have any problems, refer to the full installation instructions or grab a team member.
If you see an error like "msys2 shell command not found" when starting MSYS2, or if you just get a Windows command prompt take a look at issue #10. If the MSYS2 launcher opens both the MSYS2 shell and the Windows cmd shell, take a look at issue #9.
We like to link have a single directory serve as both our MSYS2 home
directory (/home/doe0000) and our Windows home directory (C:\Users\doe0000).
In order to do that, we'll make the MSYS2 path a link to the Windows one.
First, open a Windows command prompt (cmd) as Administrator. Then run the following copy command to duplicate the default configuration files from your MSYS2 home to your Windows home.
copy C:\msys64\home\%USERNAME%\* %USERPROFILE%
In the same cmd window, move your original msys2 home folder out of the way, just in case.
rename C:\msys64\home\%USERNAME% %USERNAME%.bak
Then, (still in the same window) create a link so that your Windows home directory will be used as your MSYS2 home directory. This is the only step that really needs Administrator privleges.
mklink /D C:\msys64\home\%USERNAME% %USERPROFILE%
pacman is the MSYS2 package manager, and can be used to search for and install lots of packages.
Running the following within msys2 will give you python2, git, and a couple of editors.
pacman -S --needed --noconfirm \
mingw64/mingw-w64-x86_64-python2 \
msys/vim \
msys/nano \
msys/git \
msys/rsync \
msys/tar \
msys/gzip
See the full docs for pacman if you want to learn more. Many other packages are available.
Create a ~/.vimrc file that turns on syntax highlighting and keeps vim from falling back on strict vi emulation:
echo "set nocompatible" >> ~/.vimrc
echo "syntax on" >> ~/.vimrc
If you become a habitual vim user, you may wish to look at other vim configuration options and add-ons. Setting up pathogen.vim and installing the sensible.vim project is a good place to get started.
The following git settings should be configured in the MSYS setup and (later) on other environments where you'll be running git.
Configure your identity
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
git config --global user.name "Jane Doe"
Set up colorized git output.
git config --global color.ui true
Set up new push behavior, rather than old default.
git config --global push.default simple