Installation

This guide will help you set up Astro Blog on your computer.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

Node.js

Node.js 18.x or higher is required.

# Check your Node.js version
node --version
# Should output: v18.x.x or higher

Package Manager

npm comes with Node.js. You can also use pnpm or yarn:

# Check npm version
npm --version

# Or use pnpm (recommended for faster installs)
npm install -g pnpm
pnpm --version

Install Dependencies

Navigate to your blog project folder and install dependencies:

# Using npm
npm install

# Or using pnpm
pnpm install

This will install all required packages defined in package.json.

Start Development Server

Start the local development server:

# Using npm
npm run dev

# Or using pnpm
pnpm dev

You should see output like:

🚀 astro  v5.x.x ready in 1234ms

┃ Local    http://localhost:4321/
┃ Network  use --host to expose

Open in Browser

Visit http://localhost:4321 in your browser. You should see your blog’s homepage!

Verify Installation

Check that everything works:

1. Homepage loads - You see the blog homepage
2. Posts list - Navigate to /posts to see articles
3. Dark mode - Toggle the theme switch in the header
4. Search - Try the search function

Common Issues

Port Already in Use

If port 4321 is busy, Astro will use another port. Check the terminal output for the actual URL.

Or specify a different port:

npm run dev -- --port 3000

Dependencies Not Installing

Try clearing the cache:

# Remove node_modules and lock file
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json

# Reinstall
npm install

Node.js Version Too Old

Update Node.js to version 18 or higher. Consider using nvm to manage Node versions:

# Install nvm, then:
nvm install 20
nvm use 20

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Development server running? Great! Let’s create your first post.