# Install Seedly Sites

> Install the Seedly Sites platform from your source download - prerequisites, the guided setup wizard, and your first local run.

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:

| Command | What It Does |
|---------|-------------|
| `npx pnpm run setup:check` | The "doctor" - checks your setup and names anything missing or misconfigured, in plain English |
| `npx pnpm run gen:secrets` | Generates the platform's own secret values |
| `npx pnpm run provision` | Sets up your local sandbox, then guides the live setup. Fresh installs only |

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](https://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](https://git-scm.com/download/win) 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](/docs/help/provisioning).

**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](/docs/help/troubleshooting).
3. Look up any confusing word in the [Glossary](/docs/help/glossary).
4. Ask in the Seedly Community on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/seedly.crm).

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

---
Source: https://seedlysites.com/docs/help/install