Install Grav

Get ready

For best results here, make sure you have completed all steps from the get ready guide.

Install

Grav runs pretty much out of the box, as long as you use the zip package installation installation method.

Download

First download and unpack the latest Grav locally (Grav core, not with Admin). It unpacks in the subfolder grav.

Configure for Composer

Exclude the vendor/ and the cache/ folder from Git. To do so, create a new file (in your text-editor) with the following contents and save it on top level of the grav folder as the .gitignore file:

vendor
cache/*
!cache/.gitkeep

Git deployment

# 1. Change into the folder
$ cd grav

# 2. Initialize Git
$ git init .

# 3. Add fortrabbit as a remote
$ git remote add fortrabbit {{ssh-user}}@deploy.{{region}}.frbit.com:{{app-name}}.git

# 4. Add changes to Git
$ git add -A

# 5. Commit changes
$ git commit -m 'Initial'

# 6. Initial push and upstream
$ git push -u fortrabbit main

# 7. From there on only
$ git push

Done. Your Grav site is now online and you can visit it in your browser! https://{{app-name}}.frb.io

Tuning

Install theme

Grav supports themes and plugins, which both can be installed with the bin/gpm tool. Installing plugins or themes is easy: Find the theme you like. Run locally:

$ bin/gpm install {{theme}}

Open user/config/system.yaml and set pages/theme to {{theme}}. Now commit and push:

$ git add -A
$ git push -m 'New theme'
$ git push

Done.

Install plugin

Find the plugin you need then install it as usual (we use download here). Following an an example. Run locally:

$ php bin/gpm install [[simplesearch]]

Then configure the plugin, if needed (usually in user/plugin/<pluginname>/<pluginname>.yaml), commit and push:

$ git add -A
$ git push -m 'New plugin'
$ git push

Done.

Grav Admin VS ephemeral storage

The popular Grav Admin plugin provides a way to manage a site in a guided web interface similar to the "wp-admin". This is great, when you want your client to manage her/his Grav site her/himself. Unfortunately it does not play well with ephemeral storage. Like with other PaaS — the local file system storage of the App will be wiped on each deploy — think 12-factor-app. So all local changes made in the Grav Admin panel will be gone.

Currently you should: use Grav on fortrabbit for your own private projects where you: write locally in your text editor, handle the pages in Git.