Quick Start Guide

The easiest way to quickly setup and install dotCMS starter site is by using the standard dotCMS Docker images.

Installation Steps

1. Download and install Docker (or Docker Desktop).
2. Ensure that you have Docker Compose installed.
   • If you installed Docker Desktop in Step 1, this is already installed.
   • To test: Open a terminal and type docker compose.
   • If Docker Compose is not present, or if you would like more information on the messages you receive, please see the Docker Compose documentation.
3. Visit Current Releases. Select a recent version from the dropdown, optionally with Demo Site included, to generate a Docker Compose file. Download the file.
4. In your terminal, navigate to the folder containing the file and use docker compose up.

Important Notes

• Make sure that docker has enough memory to run the containers required by dotCMS. We recommend dedicating at least 2 CPUs and 4GB RAM assigned to your docker environment. 4GB is considered a good “medium” level of memory for current versions; however, depending on your needs and implementation, you may be able to run comfortably on less memory; likewise, more intense usage may call for more. On Windows and macOS, you can adjust these settings in the Docker Desktop preferences.
• If the DOT_INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD configuration property is not specified in your docker-compose.yml file, the password used to access the dotCMS admin@dotcms.com account will be randomly generated on first startup. It can be found in the server logs on startup, similar in appearance to the following:

  #######################################################################
  ##      NOTICE: admin@dotcms.com password set to Bzqk#s4=TCwe3@      ##
  ##        WARNING: Once logged in. Please change this password.      ##
  #######################################################################
  

  • By default, example projects downloaded from Current Releases have this property preconfigured with an initial admin password of admin.
• If you are loading the full starter site, dotCMS may take 5 minutes or more to startup the first time.
  • You will know that the server has started up when you see message like this in the log files:

    20-May-20XX 17:41:24.463 INFO [main] org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start Server startup in 157516 ms
    

• These Docker Compose examples use an externalized Opensearch server and a Postgres database.
• Any errors will be reported in the dotcms.log file.
  • If you are unable to start dotCMS and need assistance, please include this log file with your request.
• To stop the Docker image, hit ctrl+C in the console where you started the image.
  • This will stop the Docker image, but if you wish to restart the image, you will also need to run docker compose down before the restart.
• To run the Docker image in the background (and tail the logs), run:

  docker compose down && docker compose up -d && docker compose logs -f
  

Accessing your dotCMS

To view the front end of the dotCMS site, enter the following address in your browser:

Please note: To access the dotCMS Admin tools you should always use a HTTPS/SSL port as many of the cookies used to manage session are marked https-only. Be sure the appropriate ports are open.

https://local.dotcms.site:8443

If this address does not work due to port closures, DNS issues, or other reasons, you can achieve the same result through either of the following:

• https://localhost:8443
• http://localhost:8082

To log in to the Admin console on the starter site:

1. In your browser, go to https://local.dotcms.site:8443/dotAdmin (or the comparable localhost address)
2. Login using the admin credentials from the dotCMS log files: