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Quick Start

Get SolidOS running locally in 5 minutes.

Prerequisites​

  • Node.js 18+
  • npm or yarn
  • A Solid pod (or we'll create a local one)

Option 1: Clone the Monorepo​

The fastest way to get the full development environment:

# Clone SolidOS
git clone https://github.com/SolidOS/solidos.git
cd solidos

# Install dependencies (uses Lerna)
npm install
npm run setup

# Start the development server
npm start

Visit http://localhost:8080 — you're running SolidOS!

Option 2: Use mashlib Directly​

For a simpler setup, use the pre-built mashlib:

# Create a project
mkdir my-solid-app && cd my-solid-app
npm init -y

# Install mashlib
npm install mashlib

# Create an HTML file

Create index.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>My Solid App</title>
  <script src="node_modules/mashlib/dist/mashlib.min.js"></script>
  <link href="node_modules/mashlib/dist/mash.css" rel="stylesheet">
</head>
<body>
  <div id="PageBody"></div>
  <script>
    const subject = panes.UI.store.sym('https://solidcommunity.net/')
    panes.runDataBrowser(document, subject)
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Serve it:

npx serve .

Option 3: Data Kitchen (Desktop App)​

For a standalone desktop experience:

# Clone Data Kitchen
git clone https://github.com/SolidOS/data-kitchen.git
cd data-kitchen

# Install and run
npm install
npm start

This gives you an Electron-based SolidOS app.

Get a Solid Pod​

If you don't have a pod, get one free:

ProviderURL
solidcommunity.nethttps://solidcommunity.net/
Inrupt Pod Spaceshttps://start.inrupt.com/
Self-hosted CSShttps://github.com/CommunitySolidServer/CommunitySolidServer

Local Development Pod​

For development, run a local Community Solid Server:

# Install CSS
npm install -g @solid/community-server

# Run with in-memory storage
community-solid-server -p 3000

# Or with file-based storage
community-solid-server -p 3000 -c @css:config/file.json -f ./data

Now you have a local pod at http://localhost:3000/.

Project Structure​

After cloning the monorepo:

solidos/
├── packages/
│   ├── mashlib/           # Main bundle
│   ├── solid-panes/       # Pane collection
│   ├── solid-ui/          # UI widgets
│   └── solid-logic/       # Core logic
├── lerna.json             # Monorepo config
├── package.json
└── documentation/         # Dev guides

Development Workflow​

# Watch for changes across all packages
npm run watch

# Run tests
npm test

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start local server with hot reload
npm start

Verify It's Working​

  1. Open http://localhost:8080
  2. You should see the SolidOS data browser
  3. Navigate to a Solid pod URL
  4. Try logging in with your WebID
  5. Browse your data!

Common Issues​

"Cannot find module 'rdflib'"​

npm run setup  # Re-run Lerna bootstrap

Port already in use​

# Use a different port
PORT=9000 npm start

CORS errors​

When developing locally against remote pods, you may need to configure CORS. Use a local CSS server for development.

Next Steps​