The project is maintained by a non-profit organisation called the Ghost Foundation, along with an amazing group of independent contributors. We're trying to make publishing software that changes the shape of online journalism.

NOTE: If you’re stuck, can’t get something working or need some help, please head on over and join our Slack community rather than opening an issue.

Quick Start Install

First, you’ll need Node.js v4 LTS or a supported version.

Download the latest release of Ghost
Unzip, and fire up terminal
npm install --production
Start Ghost!
- Local environment: npm start
- On a server: npm start --production
http://localhost:2368/ghost 🎉

More install docs here in case you get stuck.

Developer Install

This is for if you want to hack on Ghost core. First, you’ll need Node.js v4 LTS or a supported version. Then:

git clone git://github.com/tryghost/ghost.git
cd ghost

Install grunt

npm install -g grunt-cli

Install knex-migrator

npm install -g knex-migrator

Install Ghost

npm install

Build the things!

grunt init

Start your engines

grunt dev

Congrats! You made it. BTW you can also just npm install ghost if you're into that sort of thing. NPM aficionados can also read up on using Ghost as an NPM module. More general install docs here in case you got stuck.

Deploying Ghost

The easiest way to deploy Ghost is with our official Ghost(Pro) managed service. You can have a fresh instance up and running in a couple of clicks with a worldwide CDN, backups, security and maintenance all done for you.

Not only will it save you many hours per month, but all revenue goes to the Ghost Foundation, which funds the maintenance and further development of Ghost itself. So you’ll be supporting open source software and getting a great service at the same time! Talk about win/win. 🏆

Other options are also available if you prefer playing around with servers by yourself, of course. The freedom of choice is in your hands.

Staying Up to Date

When a new version of Ghost comes out, you'll want to look over these upgrade instructions for what to do next.

You can talk to other Ghost users and developers in our public Slack team (it's pretty awesome). We have a public meeting every Tuesday at 5:30pm UK time.

New releases are announced on the dev blog. You can subscribe by email or follow @TryGhost_Dev on Twitter, if you prefer your updates bite-sized and facetious. 🎷🐢