Getting Started

Welcome to Nocturne.

This guide walks you through everything you need to get your documentation site running — from downloading the source to deploying it live.

Estimated time: 20–30 minutes.

What You'll Do

Install Nocturne — download from Gumroad, extract, install dependencies
Run Locally — start the dev server, preview your site at localhost:3000
Configure Nocturne — edit docusaurus.config.ts, sidebars.ts, and the JSON data files
Deploy — publish to Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, or Netlify

Before you begin, make sure you have:

Requirement	Version	Notes
Node.js	18 or higher	Download here
npm	Latest	Comes with Node.js
Git	Latest	Optional — for deployment
Terminal	—	Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac/Linux)
Text editor	—	VS Code recommended

If you've used Docusaurus before, you'll feel at home. Nocturne is built on Docusaurus 3 — the same framework, the same conventions.

What's different:

Premium design — Nocturne ships with its own theme, not the default
Decap CMS — pre-configured, ready to use
Pagefind search — already wired, no setup needed
Data files — site.json, navbar.json, widgets.json, home.json for easy editing
Full documentation sections — Getting Started, Configuration, Customization, Developer Guide

If you're new to Docusaurus, don't worry — this guide assumes no prior experience.

Nocturne can be used in three ways. Pick the one that fits your goal:

Run Nocturne on your own computer. Edit content, preview your site, build the final HTML — all offline.

Best for: First-time users, content editing before publishing.

Deploy Nocturne online. Edit content from any device, anywhere.

Best for: Teams, agencies, anyone who wants a live site.

Modify Nocturne's theme, components, or data structure. Build something unique.

Best for: Developers, agencies with specific requirements.

See Developer Guide for the custom path.

Let's install Nocturne first.