INSTALLATION · COORDIATION CMS

Install Coordiation CMS

Start a self-hosted publishing workspace with posts, pages, a block editor, SEO controls, and native themes. The npm initializer gives you the application source in your own directory.

Published on npm · 0.1.0 · MIT

This guide targets CMS 0.1.0, built on Coordiation Fullstack alpha. Node.js 22.18 or newer is required; Node.js 24 is recommended. WordPress PHP themes and plugins are not compatible.

View the npm package

Quick start

Run these commands in a terminal. Choose a new folder name if my-site already exists.

Create and run your CMS

npx coordiation-cms@0.1.0 init my-site
cd my-site
npm install
npm run build
npm start

Then open http://127.0.0.1:3118/login on the same computer to create your first administrator.

Create your project

Create a new directory

npx coordiation-cms@0.1.0 init my-site

The initializer copies source, public assets, scripts, and setup documentation. It refuses existing paths and does not install dependencies or start a server. The generated project is marked private to prevent accidental npm publication.

Install, build, and start

Run the application

cd my-site\nnpm install\nnpm run build\nnpm start

The server listens at http://127.0.0.1:3118. Keep the terminal running while using your CMS. This starts the application locally; it does not publish your site to a hosting service.

Create your administrator

Open http://127.0.0.1:3118/login, enter your name and email, and choose a password of at least 15 characters. No demo credentials are bundled. Initial setup closes automatically after the first account is created.

Make the site yours

Settings: update your site title, reading preferences, and comment visibility.
Posts / Pages: create content, review the SEO meter, and save drafts or publish.
Themes: preview or activate an included theme. For Teraform, choose Edit homepage to change its sections and motion settings.
Settings → AI writing: optionally connect your own OpenAI API key. Review suggestions before applying them; API billing is separate.

See the admin screenshots

Editing the source

Stop the running server with Ctrl+C before using development mode:

Development mode

npm run dev

Reload the browser after source changes rebuild. Before running the production build locally again, stop development mode and run npm run build, then npm start.

Your data stays with your project

SQLite data is created at data/cms.sqlite. Media, content, users, themes, and settings live in that database. If you configure OpenAI, its separate encryption key is stored beside the database. Back up both; keep private files out of Git and public web directories.

The generated project includes docs/DEPLOYMENT.md, docs/THEMES.md, and docs/SEO-AND-AI.md for recovery, theme packaging, and AI configuration.

Deploy to your own domain

The included Docker and Compose files are a starting point for a server with Traefik. Before deployment, replace the example domain with yours in the Compose build origin, runtime CMS_ORIGIN, and Traefik host rule. For a non-Docker build, also update coordiation.config.json so the build and runtime origins match.

Create a private .env from .env.example, set your administrator email and a random CMS_SETUP_TOKEN, and use HTTPS with secure cookies. Local Node commands do not automatically load .env; provide the environment variables to the process. Follow the complete deployment and backup guide before exposing the initial setup screen.

Read the deployment guide

Troubleshooting

Destination already exists: choose a new folder name. The initializer intentionally avoids overwriting a site.
Port 3118 is in use: stop the other local server, or change the port in both application scripts and coordiation.config.json. Keep CMS_ORIGIN aligned if set.
Build missing: run npm run build before npm start.
Unsupported runtime: check node --version and use Node.js 22.18+; Node.js 24 is recommended.

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