Bobathon · Mississippi ITS 2026

Get IBM Bob

Two steps — sign up for a free trial, then download the IDE. The whole setup takes under two minutes.

Create your IBM Bob account — free to start, no credit card required.

Get the desktop app — available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Open a Folder First

Bob needs an open folder to do anything useful — write code, create files, remember context. Without one, it's just a chat window.

Open Folder in the Explorer panel

In the Explorer panel (left sidebar), click Open Folder. Navigate to your folder and click Select Folder. Bob is ready to go the moment the folder loads.

Use a dedicated, empty folder

Create a fresh, empty folder just for your Bob work — something like ~/bob-workspace. Bob can read every file in the open folder, so keeping it dedicated means it only ever sees what you intentionally put there. Don't open your home directory, Documents, or any folder with sensitive files.

VS Code Explorer panel showing the Open Folder button

VS Code Explorer — click "Open Folder" to get started

You've completed a track — great work! Follow the five steps below to claim your Credly badge.

Install the Badging Extension

Copy this prompt and paste it into Bob. Bob will automatically download the bob-badge-ext-0.0.6.vsix extension into your workspace folder.

Please download the file at https://vladstol223.github.io/techweek.bob/bob-badge-ext-0.0.6.vsix and save it as `bob-badge-ext-0.0.6.vsix` in the current workspace directory. Once the file is saved, confirm it is present and tell me you are ready for the next step.

Install the Extension in Bob

Once Bob has saved the file, install it from the Extensions panel:

Open the Extensions panel (puzzle-piece icon in the left sidebar)
Click the ⋯ More Actions button (three dots, top-right of the panel)
Select Install from VSIX…
Choose bob-badge-ext-0.0.6.vsix from your workspace folder
Bob will reload — the badging skill is now installed

Install from VSIX — walkthrough

Animated walkthrough: how to install a VSIX extension in Bob

Activate the Extension & Enter Your API Key

After the reload, click the IBM Bob Badge Issuer icon that appears in the left sidebar. Press Enter when prompted, then type in the API key displayed on the screen at the front of the room.

The API key is shown on the presentation screen in your room — you do not need to write it down in advance.

Activating the extension & entering the API key

Animated walkthrough: activating the badge extension and entering the API key

Switch to Bob Badge Auditor Mode

Switch Bob to the Bob Badge Auditor mode using the mode picker at the bottom-left of the chat panel.

How to switch modes in Bob

Open a New Chat

Before pasting the audit prompt, start a fresh chat in Bob. Click the ✕ button in the top-right of the chat panel — it's right next to the blue bobcoin spend button — to open a clean new chat.

This prevents prior conversation history from confusing the auditor — a clean slate ensures the most accurate badge evaluation.

Start the Badge Audit

You're in Badge Auditor mode in a fresh chat. Copy your track's audit prompt and paste it into Bob — it contains all the completion criteria Bob needs to evaluate your work and guide you through the Credly claim.

What changes with an
orchestration tool?

Choose Your Track

What changes with anorchestration tool?

Choose Your Track

What changes with an
orchestration tool?