# Getting started

This guide covers the prerequisites and tools you need to start building extensions.

## Prerequisites

Before you can create your first extension make sure you have the following prerequisites.

-   You are familiar with Airtable and Extensions.
-   You are familiar with JavaScript and [React](https://react.dev/). Don't worry, you don't need to be an expert!
    -   If you need some help with the basics, check out
        [Mozilla's guides](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn_web_development/Core/Scripting) for JavaScript and React's
        [Getting Started](https://react.dev/learn) guide.
    -   The core React concepts used in the Blocks SDK are [function components](https://react.dev/learn/describing-the-ui)
        and [hooks](https://react.dev/reference/react/hooks).
-   You have familiarity with the terminal. You should know how to `cd` into a folder and run
    commands. Again, no need to be an expert!
-   You have a Windows, macOS, or Linux computer. Other operating systems may work but are untested.
-   You have Node.js installed. You’ll need Node 22 or higher. You can follow instructions to download and install it on [Node's website](https://nodejs.org/en/download/prebuilt-installer).
-   You have a text editor installed, such as Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, or Vim. If
    you're not sure which editor to use, we recommend
    [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/).

## Running commands in the terminal

We'll be running a number of commands in the terminal. In this guide, if you see a code snippet that
starts with `$`, that means it should be run in the terminal, but you don't need to type the `$`.

## [Next: learn how to build a "Hello, world" extension →](https://airtable.com/developers/extensions/guides/hello-world-tutorial.md)