workspace-course-topics

Assignment: Add Yourself as Coauthor and Create a Pull Request

Due: Before next class

Prerequisite: Ballpark Paper Selection

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Objective

1. Add yourself as a coauthor to your ballpark notebook
2. Create a pull request to the ballpark repository with this change

This is your first contribution to an open-source repository.

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Ask Cursor Throughout

Use Cursor as your advisor for Git commands. If you’re unsure about any step:

“I’m trying to [describe what you want to do]. What Git command should I use?”

For example:

• “I want to create a new branch for my changes”
• “I pushed to the wrong place, how do I fix it?”
• “What does this error message mean?”

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Prerequisites

Before starting, verify:

• You have completed the pre-class checklist
• You can open your ballpark notebook in Cursor
• You have a GitHub account

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Part A: Fork the ballpark repository

If you haven’t already forked ballpark:

1. Go to https://github.com/econ-ark/ballpark
2. Click Fork (top right)
3. Select your GitHub account as the destination
4. You now have your own copy at https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/ballpark

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Part B: Set up your fork as a remote

In your terminal:

cd ~/GitHub/<your-username>/ballpark

# Check current remotes
git remote -v

# Add your fork as a remote named "myfork"
git remote add myfork https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/ballpark.git

# Verify
git remote -v

Expected: You see both origin (econ-ark/ballpark) and myfork (your fork)

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Part C: Create a branch for your changes

# Make sure you're on master and up to date
git checkout master
git pull origin master

# Create a new branch for your changes
git checkout -b add-coauthor-YOURNAME

Replace YOURNAME with your actual name (no spaces, e.g., add-coauthor-smith).

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Part D: Add yourself as coauthor

1. Open Cursor from the ballpark directory:

   cd ~/GitHub/<your-username>/ballpark
   source .venv-$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')-$(uname -m)/bin/activate
   cursor .
   

2. Navigate to your ballpark paper’s notebook:

   models/We_Would_Like_In_Econ-ARK/[YourPaperFolder]/[notebook].ipynb
   

3. Find the cell that lists authors (usually near the top)

4. Add yourself as a coauthor. The format varies, but typically:

   **Authors:** Original Author(s), Your Name (JHU)
   

   Or if there’s a structured author list:

   - Original Author (Original Institution)
   - Your Name (Johns Hopkins University)
   

5. Save the notebook (Cmd+S or Ctrl+S)

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Part E: Commit your changes

In Cursor’s terminal (or your regular terminal):

# Verify you're in ballpark and on your branch
pwd
git branch --show-current

# Stage your changes
git add models/We_Would_Like_In_Econ-ARK/[YourPaperFolder]/

# Commit
git commit -m "Add [Your Name] as coauthor to [Paper Name] ballpark"

Replace the bracketed items with your actual information.

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Part F: Push to your fork

git push myfork add-coauthor-YOURNAME

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Part G: Ask Cursor to review your changes

Before creating the PR, ask Cursor to check your work:

“I’m about to create a pull request. Can you review my staged changes and tell me if anything looks wrong?”

In Cursor, you can also run git diff --staged to see exactly what you’re about to commit.

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Part H: Create a pull request

1. Go to https://github.com/econ-ark/ballpark
2. You should see a banner: “Compare & pull request” for your recently pushed branch
3. Click it
4. Fill in the PR:
   • Title: “Add [Your Name] as coauthor to [Paper Name]”
   • Description:

     Adding myself as a coauthor for the [Paper Name] ballpark entry.
          
     This is part of coursework for Economics research methods.
     

5. Click Create pull request

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Part I: Record your PR URL

Copy the URL of your pull request (e.g., https://github.com/econ-ark/ballpark/pull/42)

Bring this URL to class — you’ll need to share it.

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Verification

Your PR is successful if:

• The PR appears on https://github.com/econ-ark/ballpark/pulls
• The PR shows your notebook change (adding yourself as coauthor)
• There are no merge conflicts

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Troubleshooting

“Permission denied” when pushing:

• Make sure you’re pushing to myfork, not origin
• Verify your GitHub credentials are set up correctly

“Branch already exists”:

• Use a different branch name, or delete the old branch:

  git branch -D add-coauthor-YOURNAME
  git checkout -b add-coauthor-YOURNAME
  

“Can’t find the notebook”:

• Make sure Cursor is open at the ballpark root (not a subdirectory)
• Navigate through: models → We_Would_Like_In_Econ-ARK → [your paper folder]

“Merge conflicts”:

• This can happen if someone else edited the same file
• Ask for help in class — we’ll resolve it together

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What happens next

Your PR will be reviewed. Once approved and merged, you’ll officially be a contributor to the Econ-ARK ballpark repository!