Installation | DocuBase

This guide covers multiple installation methods for DocuBase, from quick setup to manual configuration.

System Requirements

Before installing DocuBase, ensure your system meets these requirements:

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
Node.js	v18.0.0	v20.0.0+
RAM	4GB	8GB+
Disk Space	500MB	1GB+

Check your Node version

Run node --version in your terminal to verify your Node.js installation.

Verify Prerequisites

Run these commands to check your system readiness

# Check Node.js version
node --version

# Check npm version
npm --version

# Check git version
git --version

Quick Installation

The fastest way to get started is using the CLI:

Create your project

Run the create command using your preferred package manager:

npx create-docubase my-docs

pnpm create docubase my-docs

yarn create docubase my-docs

The CLI will:

Create a new directory with your project name
Copy the DocuBase template files
Prompt you to install dependencies

Navigate to your project

cd my-docs

Start development server

Launch the development server:

npm run dev

pnpm dev

yarn dev

bun dev

Open http://localhost:4321 in your browser.

Alternative: Clone from GitHub

You can also clone the repository directly:

git clone https://github.com/Sithumli/DocuBase.git my-docs
cd my-docs
npm install

Manual Installation

If you prefer to set up DocuBase from scratch or integrate it into an existing project:

1. Create a new Astro project

npm create astro@latest my-docs

2. Install required dependencies

npm install @astrojs/mdx @astrojs/tailwind tailwindcss

3. Configure Astro

Update your astro.config.mjs:

import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
import mdx from '@astrojs/mdx';
import tailwind from '@astrojs/tailwind';

export default defineConfig({
  integrations: [mdx(), tailwind()],
  output: 'static'
});

4. Set up content collections

Create src/content.config.ts:

import { defineCollection, z } from 'astro:content';
import { glob } from 'astro/loaders';

const docs = defineCollection({
  loader: glob({ pattern: "**/*.mdx", base: "./src/content/docs" }),
  schema: z.object({
    title: z.string(),
    description: z.string().optional(),
    order: z.number().optional(),
    category: z.string().optional(),
  }),
});

export const collections = { docs };

Verifying Installation

After installation, verify everything works correctly:

Check the homepage

Navigate to http://localhost:4321 and confirm the homepage loads.

Test documentation pages

Visit http://localhost:4321/docs/getting-started to verify documentation rendering.

Check for errors

Look at your terminal for any build warnings or errors.

Common issues

If you see dependency errors, try deleting node_modules and your lockfile, then reinstalling.

Troubleshooting

This usually happens when dependencies aren’t installed correctly. Try:

# Remove existing installations
rm -rf node_modules
rm -f pnpm-lock.yaml package-lock.json yarn.lock bun.lockb

# Reinstall dependencies
npm install

Environment Configuration

DocuBase works out of the box, but you can customize it with environment variables:

Variable	Description	Default
PUBLIC_SITE_URL	Your site's public URL	http://localhost:4321
PUBLIC_SITE_NAME	Display name for your docs	DocuBase
PUBLIC_SITE_DESCRIPTION	Site meta description	Documentation site

Example .env file

Create a .env file in your project root

# Site Configuration
PUBLIC_SITE_URL=https://your-docs.vercel.app
PUBLIC_SITE_NAME=My Documentation
PUBLIC_SITE_DESCRIPTION=Documentation for my awesome project

Environment variables

Variables prefixed with PUBLIC_ are exposed to the client-side. Keep sensitive values without this prefix.

Updating DocuBase

To update to the latest version (if you cloned from GitHub):

git pull origin main
npm install

git pull origin main
pnpm install

git pull origin main
yarn install

git pull origin main
bun install

If you’ve customized DocuBase and encounter merge conflicts:

Backup your changes before updating
Resolve conflicts in your editor
Run npm install after resolving conflicts
Test thoroughly before deploying

# Create a backup branch before updating
git checkout -b backup/my-customizations
git checkout main
git pull origin main
npm install

Info

Check the changelog before updating to review any breaking changes.

Next Steps

Now that you have DocuBase installed, here’s what to do next:

Getting Started - Learn the basics and start building your documentation
Core Concepts - Understand how DocuBase works under the hood
Components - Explore all available components and how to use them

Need help?

If you run into any issues during installation, check the troubleshooting section above or visit our GitHub repository to report a bug.