Install from source for development#

As an overview, you will perform the following steps in order.

  1. Install the Plone backend (which includes the Classic UI) with either buildout or pip.

  2. Create the Plone Site in a web browser, choosing either the new Volto or the Classic UI for a frontend.

  3. Install the Plone frontend (Volto) with node.

System requirements#

To install Plone 6, you must satisfy system requirements.

Todo

Add any missing requirements, including disk space.

  • 2GB if using a container image, 4GB RAM if installing manually.

  • Disk space (TBD).

  • Either a UNIX-like operating system—such as Linux, Ubuntu, macOS—or Windows. For Windows, it is a good idea to use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). We strongly recommend using a recent version of your operating system released within the last 3 years. Older systems might not be supported.

  • Python 3.7, 3.8, or 3.9.

  • [Other?]

Backend source / frontend source explanation#

Pip install / cookiecutter#

Mxdev#

Tox#

Deprecated installation methods#

Buildout#

Universal installer? (based on buildout) -> container#

Todo

Move parts of the subsequent content into their appropriate section headings above.

Install the Plone backend#

You can install the Plone backend with either buildout or pip.

Install backend with buildout#

Create a new directory to hold your project, make it your current directory, and create a new file inside it called buildout.cfg. This file will refer to the latest version of Plone, and the user value that will be used in the next step to create a Plone site. Paste the following configuration information into it.

[buildout]
extends = https://dist.plone.org/release/6.0.0a4/versions.cfg
parts = instance

[instance]
recipe = plone.recipe.zope2instance
eggs =
    Plone
user = admin:admin

Install Plone with the following shell commands.

# Create a Python virtual environment in the current directory
python3.9 -m venv .
# Install the latest Plone 6 requirements with pip
bin/pip install -r https://dist.plone.org/release/6.0.0a4/requirements.txt
# Run buildout to install Plone 6
bin/buildout
# Start the Plone instance
bin/instance fg

Install backend with pip#

Create a new directory to hold your project, make it your current directory, then issue the following commands in a shell session.

# Create a Python virtual environment in the current directory
python3.9 -m venv .
# Update Python package management tools
bin/pip install -U pip setuptools wheel
# Install Plone 6 with constrained requirements with pip
bin/pip install Plone -c https://dist.plone.org/release/6.0.0a4/constraints.txt
# Create a Plone 6 site with the given username and password in the current directory
bin/mkwsgiinstance -u admin:admin -d .
# Initialize Zope
bin/runwsgi -v etc/zope.ini

Warning

You might need to edit etc/zope.conf to add a blobstorage node with a blob-dir entry. See issue 3345.

Create a Plone site#

After you have installed the backend with buildout or pip, open a browser and visit http://localhost:8080/.

Choose either Volto or Classic UI for the frontend.

  • For a new Volto frontend, click Create a new Plone site to prepare a Plone site and its backend.

    Note

    If this button is not available, then you did not install plone.volto with buildout or pip.

    Attention

    For Volto, make sure the Path identifier is Plone. You can change this, but then you need to change some Volto frontend configuration as well.

  • For a Plone Classic UI frontend, click Create Classic Plone site.

Submit the form and your backend is ready.

If you created a Plone site with a Classic UI frontend, then you have completed installation.

If a created a Plone site with a Volto frontend, continue with the next steps.

Volto frontend with node#

We recommend that you read the chapter Installing Volto for details.

nvm, the Node Version Manager#

We recommend that you install nvm, or Node Version Manager. This makes it possible to switch to any version of node (Node.JS) and npm (Node Package Manager) for any project on which you might work.

  • On Linux: apt-get install nvm

  • On Mac: brew install nvm

  • Or use the installation procedure detailed in the nvm documentation

With nvm installed, you can use it to install and use a supported version of node and npm using the following shell commands.

nvm install 16
nvm use 16

Install Yarn#

Volto requires Yarn Classic, a dependency manager for JavaScript code. Install Yarn with the following command.

npm install --global yarn

Create a Volto project#

Create a Volto project using the following shell command.

npm init yo @plone/volto

This will take some time ☕️. Toward the end of the process, it will ask you for a project name. Enter the name of your project, using only lowercase letters. It will create a directory with this name. Go to that directory and start the frontend with the following command.

yarn start

In your browser, visit http://localhost:3000.

Congratulations! You have completed the installation of Plone 6 with Volto for its frontend. Welcome to Plone 6!