I’m using Repl to teach an intro Python course. I’ve done so in the past, I found it a very nice and simple tool. But some recent changes have made it significantly more confusing. Repl is now auto-creating a half a dozen files and folders in every project. Namely, there’s now a .lesson folder, a .upm folder, and .replit and replit.nix files in every project. What used to be a 2 file project is now an 8 file project. And given that my students are, again, programming for the first time, none of these options is actually useful to me.
I know many use Replit in a more complicated way, or for much larger projects. But it would be nice if I could basically turn off the advanced configuration and go back to the 2 file projects I had last year, where my Run button ran main.py and there was no package management or lesson planning. I know I can configure it to do this - but the very presence of these files opens my students up to getting themselves in trouble, and frustrates me to no end recreating these files.
Organizing Replit Projects with GitHub Integration
Hello there,
I get where you’re coming from about the automatic creation of additional files and folders in Replit projects, even when starting a new one. It can indeed be frustrating especially when simplicity is key, especially for introductory courses. So here’s a workaround that leverages GitHub integration to maintain project organization:
GitHub Integration Steps:
GitHub Repository: Begin by creating a GitHub repository for your introductory Python course. This will serve as a clean and organized starting point for your projects.
Template Repository: Set up one of your GitHub repositories as a template repository. This template will contain the basic structure you want for your Python projects, including only the essential files (e.g., main.py).
Fork from Template: In Replit, when creating a new project, choose the option to fork a GitHub repository. Select the template repository you created in step 2. This will ensure that each new Replit project starts with the structure you desire, containing only the core Python file.
Benefits of this Approach:
Consistency: Using a template repository ensures that every project begins with the same clean structure, making it easier for students to navigate.
Simplified Projects: Students can focus solely on the main.py file without distraction from unnecessary folders and files.
Organization: All your projects will be neatly organized within your GitHub account, allowing for easy access and management.
With this process you can maintain the simplicity you desire for your introductory Python course, even in the face of Replit’s automatic file generation. It’s an efficient way to ensure each project starts with the structure you want, keeping both you and your students organized and focused.
I hope you find this solution helpful in streamlining your course. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me anytime!
This unfortunately doesn’t work for me. Could you clarify -
I’m using a Repl Education Team. When I go to create a new project, I have no option to create it from a Github repo. I only have that option when creating a new repl completely - I can assign my education team as the owner of the repo, but it still doesn’t import as a project and I can’t figure out a way to connect the two.
But even if that did work, the issue is not that these files are or are not present in the project. The problem is that if I delete then, they keep coming back. I’ve cloned a repo from Github, but it still creates the .replit and replit.nix files. If I create a project in my education team, every time I open it, Repl creates a new .lesson folder. I don’t want a .lesson folder, so I delete it - the next time I open the project, it’s back.
I understand that the .replit file is now how Repl configures things. So I do need this file so that my main.py file is run when my students press Run. What is not clear to me is why this file was either nonexistent or hidden last year, but this year, it’s visible in every project. Even when I add it to the list of hidden files, it’s still visible, which seems to defeat the purpose of having a list of hidden files.