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Installation

This page walks you through downloading and setting up Nocturne.

By the end, you'll have the project files on your computer, ready to run.

Estimated time: 5–10 minutes.

Before You Begin​

Make sure you have:

  • Node.js 18 or higher installed — download here
  • npm — comes with Node.js
  • A terminal — Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac/Linux)

Check your Node.js version:

node --version

You should see something like v18.x.x or v20.x.x.

If you get node: command not found, install Node.js from nodejs.org and try again.

Step 1 — Download Nocturne​

After purchasing on Gumroad, you'll get a .zip file.

Windows:

  1. Right-click the .zip file
  2. Click Extract All
  3. Choose a folder, e.g., C:\Users\YourName\nocturne\
  4. Click Extract

Mac:

  1. Double-click the .zip file — it extracts automatically
  2. Move the folder to ~/nocturne/

Linux:

unzip nocturne.zip -d ~/nocturne

Step 2 — Open a Terminal in the Project Folder​

Windows:

  1. Open the nocturne folder in File Explorer
  2. Click the address bar at the top
  3. Type cmd and press Enter

Mac:

  • Right-click the nocturne folder → New Terminal at Folder

Linux:

  • Open Terminal, then cd ~/nocturne

Step 3 — Install Dependencies​

In the terminal, run:

npm install

This installs all required packages. It usually takes 1–2 minutes.

What gets installed:

  • Docusaurus 3 core
  • React 18
  • Pagefind search plugin
  • Theme dependencies

Step 4 — Verify the Installation​

Run a test build:

npm run build

If successful, you'll see:

[INFO] [en] Creating an optimized production build...
[SUCCESS] Generated static files in "build".

The build/ folder now contains your static documentation site.

Troubleshooting​

node: command not found​

Node.js is not installed or not in your PATH. Download it from nodejs.org and reinstall.

npm install fails​

  1. Delete node_modules/ and package-lock.json
  2. Run npm install again
  3. If it still fails, check your Node.js version with node --version

npm run build fails with "command not found"​

Run npm install first. The build command requires dependencies.

Port 3000 already in use​

That's a dev server issue, not build. See Local Setup for how to change the port.

What's Next?​

Nocturne is installed. Now let's run it locally.

👉 Next: Local Setup →