Install locally

Run Pages CMS locally with PostgreSQL, environment variables, and a GitHub App.

What you need

  • a local clone of the repo,
  • PostgreSQL,
  • environment variables,
  • a GitHub App.

Steps

  1. Start PostgreSQL.
  2. Install dependencies.
  3. Create .env.local.
  4. Create the GitHub App.
  5. Run migrations.
  6. Start the app.

1. Start PostgreSQL

docker run --name pagescms-db -e POSTGRES_USER=pagescms -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=pagescms -e POSTGRES_DB=pagescms -p 5432:5432 -d postgres:16

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Create .env.local

Add at least:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://pagescms:pagescms@localhost:5432/pagescms
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your-random-secret
CRYPTO_KEY=your-random-secret

Generate secrets with:

openssl rand -base64 32

4. Create the GitHub App

Use the helper:

npm run setup:github-app -- --base-url http://localhost:3000

Useful options:

  • --owner-type personal|org
  • --org <slug>
  • --app-name "Pages CMS (dev)"
  • --env .env.local
  • --no-open

5. Run migrations

npm run db:migrate

6. Start the app

npm run dev

If you need GitHub webhooks to hit your local app, use a public tunnel URL as the helper --base-url.