nodebb/README.md

# NodeBB
**NodeBB** is a robust Node.js driven forum built on a redis database. It is powered by web sockets, and is compatible down to IE8.

* [NodeBB Homepage](http://www.nodebb.org/ "NodeBB")
* [Follow on Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/NodeBB/ "NodeBB Twitter")
* [Like us on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/NodeBB/ "NodeBB Facebook")
* [Join us on IRC](https://kiwiirc.com/client/irc.freenode.net/nodebb) - #nodebb on Freenode

![NodeBB Main Category Listing](http://i.imgur.com/ZBrHqLr.png)

![NodeBB Topic Page](http://i.imgur.com/YSBA6Vr.png)

## How can I follow along/contribute?

* Our feature roadmap is hosted on the project wiki's [Version History / Roadmap](https://github.com/designcreateplay/NodeBB/wiki/Version-History-%26-Roadmap)
* If you are a developer, feel free to check out the source and submit pull requests.
* If you are a designer, NodeBB needs themes! NodeBB will accept any LESS or CSS file and use it in place of the default Twitter Bootstrap theme. Consider extending Bootstrap themes by extending the base bootstrap LESS file.

## Requirements

NodeBB requires the following software to be installed:

* A version of Node.js at least 0.8 or greater
* Redis, version 2.6 or greater.
* nginx, version 1.3.13 or greater (**only if** intending to use nginx to proxy requests to a NodeBB)

## Installation

First, we install our base software stack:

	# apt-get install git nodejs redis-server npm build-essential imagemagick

**If your package manager only installed a version of Node.js that is less than 0.8 (e.g. Ubuntu 12.10, 13.04):**

	# add-apt-repository ppa:chris-lea/node.js
	# apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade

Next, clone this repository:

	$ cd /path/to/nodebb/install/location
	$ git clone git://github.com/designcreateplay/NodeBB.git nodebb

Obtain all of the dependencies required by NodeBB:

    $ cd nodebb
    $ npm install

Initiate the setup script by running the app with the `--setup` flag:

    $ node app --setup

The default settings are for a local server running on the default port, with a redis store on the same machine/port.

Lastly, we run the forum.

    $ node app

NodeBB can also be started with helper programs, such as `supervisor` and `forever`. [Take a look at the options here](https://github.com/designcreateplay/NodeBB/wiki/How-to-run-NodeBB).

*(Optional)* Some server configurations may install the node binary as `nodejs` instead of `node`. You can re-map it (so as to not break compatibility with `node-supervisor`) by running the following command:

    # update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/node node /usr/bin/nodejs 10

## Upgrading NodeBB

Detailed upgrade instructions are listed in [Upgrading NodeBB](https://github.com/designcreateplay/NodeBB/wiki/Upgrading-NodeBB)