Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20.19.0 or newer and npm must be available in PATH. Some frontend stacks need a higher Node version; check their requirements before selecting one.
• Docker must have a running daemon and Docker Compose v2. Use Linux containers. Frontend-only projects also need Docker for the shared local gateway.
• Dwell supports Linux, macOS and Windows. On macOS and Windows, use Docker Desktop with Linux containers.

Install Dwell

Current repository version: release candidate 1.0.0-rc.1. The installation steps below follow the current Dwell README.

Get a checkout of the Dwell repository. With Git, you can clone the dev branch as shown below. Alternatively, download that branch as a ZIP from GitHub, extract it and open a terminal in that directory.

git clone --branch dev https://github.com/WebSign-Dev/Dwell.git
cd Dwell

Run these commands in the checkout. npm ci installs package dependencies; npm pack builds the CLI and creates the npm package. Then install that package globally.

npm ci
npm pack
npm install -g ./websign-dwell-1.0.0-rc.1.tgz

Verify installation

Then open a terminal and check that the CLI is available. Help shows the registered commands; the version output shows your installed Dwell version.

dwell --help
dwell --version

If dwell cannot be found, check that the global npm installation succeeded and check your shell PATH. Open a new terminal if needed. An available CLI does not yet mean Docker is running.

Notes & limits

This page covers the normal installation path from a repository checkout. Package contents, direct checkout usage and development/build details stay in the README and repository docs. For a different checkout version, the generated package filename must match that version.

Next steps

Create your first project next. The projects guide also covers commands for everyday development.

Technical reference