Installation of Grav is a trivial process. In fact, there is no real installation. You have three options for installing Grav. The first - and simplest - way is to simply download the zip archive, and extract it. The second way is to install with composer. The third way is to clone the source project directly from GitHub, and then run an included script command to install needed dependencies:

Check for PHP version

Grav is incredibly easy to set up and get running. Be sure you have at least PHP version 5.5.9 by going to the terminal and typing:

$ php -v

This should report the version and build information. For example:

PHP 5.5.20 (cli) (built: Jan 19 2014 21:32:15)
Copyright (c) 1997-2013 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.4.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2013 Zend Technologies

Option 1: Install from ZIP package

The easiest way to install Grav is to download the ZIP package and extract it:

1. Download the latest-and-greatest Grav Base package from the Downloads
2. Extract the ZIP file in the webroot of your web server, e.g. ~/webroot/grav

Option 2: Install with composer

The alternative method is to install Grav with composer:

$ composer create-project getgrav/grav ~/webroot/grav

If you want to check out the bleeding edge version of Grav, add 1.x-dev as an additional parameter:

$ composer create-project getgrav/grav ~/webroot/grav 1.x-dev

Option 3: Install from GitHub

Another method is to clone Grav from the GitHub repository, and then run a simple dependency installation script:

1. Clone the Grav repository from GitHub to a folder in the webroot of your server, e.g. ~/webroot/grav. Launch a terminal or console and navigate to the webroot folder:

   $ cd ~/webroot
   $ git clone -b master https://github.com/getgrav/grav.git

2. Install vendor dependencies via composer:

   $ composer install --no-dev -o

3. Install the plugin and theme dependencies by using the Grav CLI application bin/grav:

   $ cd ~/webroot/grav
   $ bin/grav install

   This will automatically clone the required dependencies from GitHub directly into this Grav installation.

Webserver

Apache/IIS/Nginx

Using Grav with a web server such as Apache, IIS, or Nginx is as simple as extracting Grav into a folder under the webroot. All it requires to function is PHP 5.5.9 or higher, so you should make sure that your server instance meets that requirement. More information about Grav requirements can be found in the requirements chapter of this guide.

If your web root is, for example, ~/public_html then you could extract it into this folder and reach it via http://localhost. If you extracted it into ~/public_html/grav you would reach it via http://localhost/grav.

Successful Installation

The first time it loads, Grav pre-compiles some files. If you now refresh your browser, you will get a faster, cached version.

By default, Grav comes with some sample pages to give you something to get started with. Your site is already fully functional and you can configure it, add content, extend it, or customize it as much as you like.

Installation & Setup Problems

If any issues are discovered during the initial page load (or after a cache-flush event) you may see an error page:

Please consult the Troubleshooting section for help regarding specific issues.

Grav Updates

Automatic Updates

The preferred method for updating Grav (from v0.9.3 onwards) is to use the Grav Package Manager (GPM). All you need to do is to navigate to the root of your Grav site and type:

bin/gpm selfupgrade

Full information can be found in the Grav GPM Documentation. We also have GPM integrated in our Admin Panel plugin which will check, prompt, and automatically install any updates.

Manual Updates

The process to manually update Grav is:

1. Backup your site using bin/grav backup (more information in Grav CLI Documentation or alternatively zipping up the whole Grav site, or specifically the user/ folder.

2. Download the Update Package from our Downloads section. It is important to download the update package and not the core package.

3. Extract the update package over the top of your existing Grav installation and it will copy over any updates in the core system folder.

4. Clear the Grav cache with bin/grav clear-cache to ensure any cache or compiled files are recreated cleanly.