Installing from CLI

Strapi CLI (Command Line Interface) installation scripts are the fastest way to get Strapi running locally. The following guide is the installation option most recommended by Strapi.

Preparing the installation

The CLI installation guide requires at least two software prerequisites to be already installed on your computer:

• Node.js (opens new window): only LTS versions are supported (v12 and v14). Other versions of Node.js may not be compatible with the latest release of Strapi. The 14.x version is most recommended by Strapi.
• npm (opens new window) (v6 only) or yarn (opens new window) to run the CLI installation scripts.

A database is also required for any Strapi project. Strapi currently supports the following databases:

Database	Minimum version
SQLite	3
PostgreSQL	10
MySQL	5.7.8
MariaDB	10.2.7

Creating a Strapi project

🤓 CLI installation options

The following installation guide covers the most basic installation option using the CLI. There are however other options that can be used when creating a new Strapi project:

• Using the --quickstart flag at the end of the command to directly create the project in quickstart mode.
• Using the --template flag at the end of the command to create a project with pre-made Strapi configurations (see Templates).
• Using the --no-run flag will prevent Strapi from automatically starting the server (useful in combination with --quickstart)

For more information on available flags, see our CLI documentation.

Strapi also offers a starters CLI to create a project with a pre-made frontend application (see our dedicated blog post (opens new window)).

1. In a terminal, run the following command:

2. Choose an installation type:

   • Quickstart (recommended), which uses the default database (SQLite)
   • Custom (manual settings), which allows to choose your preferred database

3. When terminal asks Would you like to use a template?, type y for yes or n for no then press Enter.

4. (Templates only) Among the list of use cases, choose one for your Strapi project.

5. (Custom installation type only) Among the list of databases, choose a database for your Strapi project.

6. (Custom installation type only) Name your project's database.

Running Strapi

To start the Strapi application, run the following command in the project folder: