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Setting up the website development environment

This website is developed using mkdocs using the Material theme. This guide will run you through the steps of setting it up.

Installing Python

You can download Python from the official website. You will need at least Python 3.8.

Cloning the repository

In order to develop this website you will need to clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/containerssh/containerssh.github.io

Creating a venv

Once you have all that done we recommend you create a venv to avoid polluting your computer with packages:

python3 -m venv /path/to/containerssh.github.io

You can then activate the venv using the following script:

venv/Scripts/activate

Installing the dependencies

Now you need to install the dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Optional: Setting the GITHUB_TOKEN

Some functions of the website require a working GitHub Token without any special permissions. You can create a token here.

You can then set the token using the command line:

export GITHUB_TOKEN="your-token-here"
$env:GITHUB_TOKEN="your-token-here"
set GITHUB_TOKEN=your-token-here

Warning

Setting GITHUB_TOKEN dramatically slows down the development server because the GitHub API is queried for every refresh. Only set it when you need it.

Running the dev server

Run the following command to get a dev server up and running:

python -m mkdocs serve

This will start the development server on localhost:8000.

Tip

We recommend using the free Visual Studio Code or the PyCharm Community Edition as a development environment for the website.