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# Installation

While Sunrise CMS can run on a high end server, that is by no means a requirement.
Most user workstations are sufficient for modest installations.

## Minimum Requirements

The system must meet the minimum requirements for Node.js,
which is able to run on budget hardware.

_More is better_, however under stress tests,
the application peaked at the following:

- 512 MB of RAM
- 1 GB of storage for application, dependencies, and data.

## Step 1: Install Node.js 18 or better and npm

[Node.js](https://nodejs.org) is a JavaScript runtime environment.
Sunrise CMS is built to run on Node.js, and is regularly tested on the currently supported LTS versions.

[npm](https://www.npmjs.com/) is a package manager that contains all the prerequisites
for Sunrise CMS.

Node.js can run on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Installers on the [Node.js website](https://nodejs.org) include npm.
Node.js and npm are also available in most package managers.

    > sudo apt install nodejs
    > sudo apt install npm

## Step 2: Install git

_Alternatively, [releases are available on GitHub](https://github.com/cityssm/sunrise-cms/releases). Git is not required when using releases._

[Git](https://git-scm.com/) is the version control system that manages the
code for Sunrise CMS.

Git can run on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
You can install it using an install on the [Git website](https://git-scm.com/),
or from most package managers.

    > sudo apt install git

## Step 3: Clone the `sunrise-cms` repository using git

Open a command line, and navigate to the folder where the application will reside.

    > git clone https://github.com/cityssm/sunrise-cms

## Step 4: Install the dependencies

    > cd sunrise-cms
    > npm install

## Step 5: Create a `config.js` file

It is recommended to copy the `config.testing.js` file to get started.

    > cp data/config.testing.js data/config.js

See the [config.js documentation](configJs.md) for help customizing
your configuration.

## Step 6: Start the application

**Start Using npm**

    > npm start

**Start Using node**

    > node ./bin/www.js

**Start as a Windows Service**

The included `windowsService-install.bat` script simplifies
the process of keeping the application running in a Windows environment
by creating a service that can start with the hosting server.

    > windowsService-install