---
title: 'Quick Start'
description: 'Get a Cartwright store running in five minutes (default profile — a plain website has its own page).'
canonical: 'https://cartwright.app/docs/getting-started/quick-start'
---

# Quick Start (/docs/getting-started/quick-start)



<Callout type="info" title="Just want a website — no shop, no login, no database?">
  Use the plain-website door: `npx create-cartwright@latest my-site --profile site`, then skip the sign-in steps below. It is the same engine with the database, admin and commerce left out — [Build a plain website](/docs/getting-started/plain-website).
</Callout>

<Callout type="info" title="New to the terminal?">
  If you've never used a command line before, don't worry! Here is how to get started:

  1. **Download Node.js:** Go to [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org) and install the latest LTS version for your computer.
  2. **Open your Terminal:**
     * **Mac:** Press `Cmd + Space`, type `Terminal`, and hit Enter.
     * **Windows:** Press the `Windows key`, type `cmd` or `PowerShell`, and hit Enter.
  3. **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!
</Callout>

<Callout type="tip" title="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](/docs/getting-started/first-login).
</Callout>

<Steps>
  1. Scaffold the shop.

  <Tabs items="['npm','pnpm','bun']">
    <Tab value="npm">
      ```bash
      npx create-cartwright@latest my-shop
      ```
    </Tab>

    <Tab value="pnpm">
      ```bash
      pnpm dlx create-cartwright@latest my-shop
      ```
    </Tab>

    <Tab value="bun">
      ```bash
      bunx create-cartwright@latest my-shop
      ```
    </Tab>
  </Tabs>

  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.

  2. Start the dev server.

  ```bash
  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.

  3. Sign in.

  Open [`http://localhost:3000/account/login`](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](/docs/getting-started/first-login).
</Steps>

<Callout type="tip">
  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`.
</Callout>

Next: [Setup Wizard](/docs/getting-started/setup-wizard).

<Callout type="tip" title="Never used GitHub or deployed before?">
  Your shop is on your laptop — now get it **online**.
  [**From code to live**](/docs/getting-started/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.
</Callout>