Local Setup

Local setup gives you a private copy of the website on your computer. Changes made there do not affect the public site until they are reviewed and merged.

Commands shown in grey boxes are typed into a terminal. Run them from the root of your local Website repository.

Install and run the website

Programs you need

• Git downloads the repository and records your changes.
• Ruby runs Jekyll. The automated checks use Ruby 3.3.
• Bundler installs the exact Ruby packages required by the project.
• Node.js is only needed when changing assets/js/main.js.

If you have not installed these programs before, ask a maintainer for help choosing the correct installer for your operating system. Open a new terminal after installation so the new commands are available.

Download the project

Open a terminal and run:

git clone https://github.com/PWindows/Website.git
cd Website

The first command downloads the project. The second moves the terminal into its folder.

Install the project packages

bundle install

This may take a few minutes the first time. When it finishes without an error, setup is complete.

Run the website

bundle exec jekyll serve

Wait until the terminal says the server is running, then open http://localhost:4000 in a browser. This address is private to your computer.

Most saved changes appear after refreshing the browser. Restart the server after changing _config.yml.

To stop the server, return to the terminal and press Control+C.

Protect the repository

Folders not to commit

Do not add these generated work folders to a commit:

• _site/
• .jekyll-cache/
• vendor/

They are recreated by the tools and are not website source files.

Troubleshooting

bundle is not found

Install Bundler for the active Ruby installation:

gem install bundler

Then run bundle install again.

A gem will not install

Check the Ruby version:

ruby --version

If it is not Ruby 3.3 or installation still fails, copy the full error and ask a maintainer for help.

The local website looks out of date

Stop the server, start it again, and refresh the browser. Restarting is required after changing _config.yml. If it still looks out of date, check if you're looking at localhost or the actual website.

Next: Development Workflow