[#46036] - Docs: Improve Setup Guide for New Windows Contributors in README.md
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- Build: 5.3-dev
- # 46036
Hello Joomla Team,
Thank you for the great project. While setting up the dev environment on Windows with XAMPP, I found the README.md is missing a few critical steps for new contributors.
I suggest adding the following:
- Required PHP Extensions: The composer install command fails on a default XAMPP installation. The README should list the required extensions to enable in php.ini:
extension=gd
extension=sodium
extension=ldap
extension=zip
- Frontend Build Step: After npm ci, the assets need to be compiled. The README should include the command found in package.json:
npm run update
- Server Setup Guide: The instructions stop after dependency installation. A new section on running the site locally would be very helpful, covering:
Using a local server like XAMPP (Apache & MySQL).
Placing the project in the htdocs folder.
Creating a database via phpMyAdmin.
Running the web-based Joomla installer.
I've documented the full process that worked for me and would be happy to submit a PR to update the README.md.
Thanks!
joomla-cms-bot
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@brianteeman
Hi, thanks for the quick reply and the great question!
Just to add some context, I'm new to contributing to Joomla, so I was following the setup guide with a fresh perspective.
From what I could tell, npm ci did a great job of downloading all the external tools and libraries that the project depends on.
However, after it finished, it seemed like there was a missing step to actually build Joomla's own CSS and JavaScript files from the source code. I looked in the package.json and found the npm run update command, which seemed to do that final compilation.
So, I guess the difference is that npm ci gathers all the parts, while npm run update puts them together for the site to use. Without it, the site seemed to be missing its assets.
Hope that clarifies things! Happy to help further if I can.
i ask because from my own experience npm ci does everything
In my case, after npm ci finished, the site's CSS and JS assets were definitely missing. Running npm run update manually was the necessary step that created them.
It seems like this automatic step might not be working reliably on all systems. Adding npm run update to the README would be a clear instruction for anyone who runs into the same situation.
Seems very odd
what does
npm run updatedo thatnpm cidid not?