Quick Start · cartwright

New to the terminal?

If you've never used a command line before, don't worry! Here is how to get started:

Download Node.js: Go to nodejs.org and install the latest LTS version for your computer.
Open your Terminal:
- Mac: Press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, and hit Enter.
- Windows: Press the Windows key, type cmd or PowerShell, and hit Enter.
Copy the command: Copy the npx create-cartwright@latest my-shop command below, paste it into your terminal, and press Enter. The interactive AI wizard will guide you through the rest!

First time? Sign in, then the setup wizard

create-cartwright creates your database and seeds an admin — your login is printed and saved to .admin-credentials. Sign in at /account/login (Password tab), and the five-step /admin/setup wizard opens automatically. Full detail: Sign in for the first time.

Scaffold the shop.

npx create-cartwright@latest my-shop

pnpm dlx create-cartwright@latest my-shop

bunx create-cartwright@latest my-shop

The CLI downloads the public sanitized template mirror, writes .env.local (with a generated AUTH_SECRET + DATABASE_URL=file:./dev.db), optionally initializes git, installs dependencies, and then creates the database and seeds an admin + demo data — so the shop is sign-in-ready. Your admin login is printed and saved to .admin-credentials. Node.js 22 or newer is required.

Start the dev server.

cd my-shop
pnpm dev

If you chose another package manager during scaffolding, use that one for dev. The template's package scripts are standard Next.js scripts, so npm run dev and bun run dev work when those package managers installed the dependencies.

Open http://localhost:3000/account/login and use the Password tab:

Email — brand.emails.admin from brand.config.ts.
Password — the value in .admin-credentials (cat .admin-credentials).

First login asks you to set your own password (/admin/konto), then the /admin/setup wizard opens automatically. Full detail + troubleshooting: Sign in for the first time.

Have Stripe, Anthropic, Gemini, Resend, and Vercel Blob keys nearby if you want to configure production integrations in the first pass. You can skip most of them and add keys later in /admin/integrations.

Next: Setup Wizard.

Never used GitHub or deployed before?

Your shop is on your laptop — now get it online. From code to live is a step-by-step, beginner-first guide (no terminal required) that takes you from here to a live store on GitHub + Vercel.