Install Seedly Sites

This guide takes you from the ZIP you downloaded to the whole platform running on your own computer: the admin, the visual builder, and a rendered site. You do not need to be a programmer. If you can copy a line of text and paste it into a terminal, you can finish this setup.

Your download also ships with a complete SETUP/ handbook inside the project folder, with numbered chapters (00 through 14) covering everything from "what is a terminal" to launch day. This page is the condensed version.

The Guided Path (Recommended)#

From the project folder in a terminal, run:

npx pnpm run setup

That launches Pixl, the Seedly Sites setup companion, who walks you through the whole setup one small step at a time and checks your work as you go. If you would rather be led than read, run that command and skip the rest of this page.

Pixl uses a few commands you can also run yourself at any time:

There is also a path for Claude Code users: open the project folder, start Claude, and ask it to read SETUP/CLAUDE_START.md and walk you through setup one chapter at a time.

Prerequisites#

You need three tools installed once per computer:

Node (version 22 or newer)#

Node runs the platform's code. Download the LTS version from nodejs.org and install with the defaults. Check it:

node --version

You want v22 or higher as the first number.

pnpm#

pnpm installs the project's building blocks. You do not install it separately: the project uses it through npx, which comes with Node. Whenever you see npx pnpm ..., that is pnpm. Check it (answer y if it offers to download):

npx pnpm --version

Git#

Git tracks your code and publishes sites through GitHub. On a Mac, run xcode-select --install. On Windows, install from git-scm.com with the defaults.

Run It Locally#

The local sandbox uses a small built-in file database, so it needs no accounts, no keys, and costs nothing.

1. Point the terminal at the project. Type cd (with a trailing space), drag the unzipped seedly-sites folder onto the terminal window, and press Enter.

2. Install the pieces:

   npx pnpm install

   Lots of text scrolls by for a minute or two. It is done when you can type again.

3. Start both dev servers:

   npx pnpm m6:dev

   This starts the two halves of the platform together: the CMS (your admin and portal) on http://localhost:3000 and the render studio (the visual builder and page preview) on http://localhost:4321. Leave the terminal window running; closing it stops the servers.

4. Create your first admin. Open http://localhost:3000/admin in a browser. A brand-new database asks you to create the first admin account. Pick an email and password you will remember.

5. Look around. Create a site (tenant), add a page, open the visual builder, and see the page render in the preview. This is the whole platform, running entirely on your computer.

To stop the servers, press Ctrl and C in the terminal. Run npx pnpm m6:dev to start them again.

What Just Happened#

You proved the full path works locally: the CMS stores content, the builder edits it, and the renderer turns it into a website. Going live is the same thing on real infrastructure, with your own domains - that is the Provisioning guide.

Estimated time: 15 to 30 minutes for the local sandbox, then a couple of hours (spread over sittings) for the live setup. You can stop anywhere and resume.

If You Get Stuck#

1. Run the doctor: npx pnpm run setup:check. It names what is wrong.
2. Check the Troubleshooting guide.
3. Look up any confusing word in the Glossary.
4. Ask in the Seedly Community on Facebook.

One caution: the SETUP/ folder inside your project is your installation manual. Do not edit or delete it; setup tooling depends on those files.