Quickstart 3 min read

Getting Started with Staticraft

A complete step-by-step guide to installing Staticraft, creating your first security-first project, understanding the folder structure, and running local development.

1. Prerequisites & Node.js Requirement

Staticraft is built with modern Node.js standard libraries (ES modules, node:fs/promises, node:http). Make sure you have Node.js version 18.0.0 or higher installed. Verify your installed Node version with:

Code Reference Staticraft

node -v
# Output should be >= v18.0.0

2. Installation Methods

You can install Staticraft globally via npm or run commands on-demand with npx without installing globally.

Code Reference Staticraft

# Option A: Global installation
npm install -g staticraft

# Option B: Run on-demand using npx
npx staticraft dev

3. Understanding Project Directory Architecture

Staticraft enforces clean separation between source files (`src/app/`) and compiled artifacts (`.raft/`). All templates, controllers, and static assets live inside `src/app/`:

Code Reference Staticraft

my-staticraft-site/
├── staticraft.config.js       # Main project settings (siteUrl, outputDir)
├── package.json
└── src/
    └── app/
        ├── page.html           # Home page template (Mapped to /)
        ├── server.js           # Home page data hook & revalidate timer
        ├── 404.html            # Custom error page fallback
        ├── styles.css          # Stylesheets (automatically hashed)
        └── docs/
            ├── page.html       # Documentation index (Mapped to /docs)
            └── server.js       # Data controller for /docs

4. Launching the Local Dev Server

Run `staticraft dev` inside your project directory. Staticraft spins up a fast development server with live reload and automatic file watching on `http://localhost:4455/`.

Code Reference Staticraft

staticraft dev

# Custom port override:
staticraft dev --port 5000

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