# Quick Start

Welcome to the Light Able NodeJS Admin, your go-to foundation for building powerful web applications with Express.JS, EJS, NodeJS and Bootstrap 5.0. This guide will walk you through the steps to set up and start us

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed on your machine:

1. [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/)Make sure to have [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) installed & running on your computer. If you already have installed Node on your computer, you can skip this step if your existing node version is greater than 18. We suggest you to use LTS version of Node.js.
2. Make sure to have the [Yarn](https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/) installed & running on your computer. If you already have installed Yarn on your computer, you can skip this step. We suggest you use Yarn instead of NPM.
3. A code editor of your choice (e.g., Visual Studio Code, Atom, Sublime Text)
4. Make sure to have the [Gulp](https://gulpjs.com/) installed & running on your computer. If you already have installed gulp on run command `npm install -g gulp` from your terminal.

You can use Gulp to Automate and enhance your project workflow.

## Build Assets <a href="#build-assets" id="build-assets"></a>

Before running the application we need to build theme assets:

1. Open your project to vs code.
2. Start a command prompt window or terminal and change directory to Lightable-Node/
3. Install packages using one of following commands

```bash
npm install or yarn
```

{% hint style="success" %}
This command will fetch all dependencies listed in `/package.json` and place them into`/node_modules` folder.
{% endhint %}

4. You can use [Gulp](https://preview.keenthemes.com/nodejs/metronic/docs/getting-started/build/gulp.html)  command to bundle theme assets. The below command will compile all the assets(sass, js, media) to `/public/assets` folder:

```batch
gulp
```

#### Setting Up Environment Variables

Create .env file in root directory of project and add following code:-

```javascript
// .env

PORT = 8000
// MongoDB Connection URL
DB_URL = mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@lightable.0vcdckt.mongodb.net/
// Your JWT Secret Key
JWT_SECRET = fdferdg5i69tindfgidfgmuotyu0#645f651fgfgd
```

### Run Project

To run the Nodejs application navigate your prompt to `project` folder and run the following command. This command will listen for changes and hot reload them.

```bash
npm run start
```

Keep your prompt running by default application is served on port [8000](http://localhost:8000/)

{% hint style="success" %}
Enjoy your development with Light Able&#x20;
{% endhint %}
