Install development version from Git

If you want to modify Ceramic or access the latest development version, you can install it via Git.

Please note that you should only install Ceramic via Git if you know what you are doing and are familiar with Git in general. If you are new to Ceramic, you are strongly advised to follow standard installation instructions instead.

Install node.js #

Download and install node v14.19.1

Be sure to use this exact version of node (v14.19.1) to install Ceramic. Ceramic may not work as expected otherwise. This is only required during installation. After the installation is done, you can uninstall this version of node as it won't be needed anymore.

Install Git if needed #

If not already available on your machine, install Git from git-scm.com

Do the actual installation via Git #

Now that git and node are available, open a Terminal (or Powershell on Windows), move to the directory where you want to install Ceramic, and run this script:

git clone https://github.com/ceramic-engine/ceramic.git
cd ceramic
git submodule update --init --recursive
cd node
npm ci
cd ../tools
./npm ci
./node post-install.js
./ceramic link
cd ../runner
../tools/npm ci
cd ..
ceramic

If ./ceramic link command fails on Mac/Linux, you might want to try to run it with administrator rights instead: sudo ./ceramic link.

You should now be able to run ceramic command from anywhere:

ceramic

Update your existing Ceramic via Git #

When you install Ceramic via Git, you need to update it via Git as well. To do so, open a Terminal again, set your current directory to your Ceramic installation and run the following script:

git pull
git submodule update --init --recursive
cd tools
./npm ci
./node post-install.js
cd ../runner
../tools/npm ci
cd ..
ceramic

If you forgot where you have installed Ceramic, you can find it using ceramic path command, which will give you a path like /your/path/to/ceramic/tools. Your Git installation directory will be that path, without the /tools suffix.

When updating an existing Ceramic installation, you don't need to have a specific node version installed on your machine, because the script is using the node binary provided with the existing installation.

Continue reading ➔ Platform Setup