[[development-getting-started]]
== Getting started

Get started building your own plugins, or contributing directly to the {kib} repo.

[float]
[[get-kibana-code]]
=== Get the code

https://help.github.com/en/github/getting-started-with-github/fork-a-repo[Fork], then https://help.github.com/en/github/getting-started-with-github/fork-a-repo#step-2-create-a-local-clone-of-your-fork[clone] the {kib-repo}[{kib} repo] and change directory into it:

[source,bash]
----
git clone https://github.com/[YOUR_USERNAME]/kibana.git kibana
cd kibana
----

[float]
=== Install dependencies

Install the version of Node.js listed in the `.node-version` file. This
can be automated with tools such as
https://github.com/creationix/nvm[nvm],
https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows[nvm-windows] or
https://github.com/wbyoung/avn[avn]. As we also include a `.nvmrc` file
you can switch to the correct version when using nvm by running:

[source,bash]
----
nvm use
----

Install the latest version of https://yarnpkg.com[yarn].

Bootstrap {kib} and install all the dependencies:

[source,bash]
----
yarn kbn bootstrap
----

____
Node.js native modules could be in use and node-gyp is the tool used to
build them. There are tools you need to install per platform and python
versions you need to be using. Please see
https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp#installation[https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp#installation]
and follow the guide according your platform.
____

(You can also run `yarn kbn` to see the other available commands. For
more info about this tool, see
{kib-repo}tree/{branch}/packages/kbn-pm[{kib-repo}tree/{branch}packages/kbn-pm].)

When switching branches which use different versions of npm packages you
may need to run:

[source,bash]
----
yarn kbn clean
----

If you have failures during `yarn kbn bootstrap` you may have some
corrupted packages in your yarn cache which you can clean with:

[source,bash]
----
yarn cache clean
----

[float]
=== Configure environmental settings

[[increase-nodejs-heap-size]]
[float]
==== Increase node.js heap size

{kib} is a big project and for some commands it can happen that the
process hits the default heap limit and crashes with an out-of-memory
error. If you run into this problem, you can increase maximum heap size
by setting the `--max_old_space_size` option on the command line. To set
the limit for all commands, simply add the following line to your shell
config: `export NODE_OPTIONS="--max_old_space_size=2048"`.

[float]
=== Run Elasticsearch

Run the latest Elasticsearch snapshot. Specify an optional license with the `--license` flag.

[source,bash]
----
yarn es snapshot --license trial
----

`trial` will give you access to all capabilities.

Read about more options for <<running-elasticsearch>>, like connecting to a remote host, running from source,
preserving data inbetween runs, running remote cluster, etc.

[float]
=== Run {kib}

In another terminal window, start up {kib}. Include developer examples by adding an optional `--run-examples` flag.

[source,bash]
----
yarn start --run-examples
----

View all available options by running `yarn start --help`

Read about more advanced options for <<running-kibana-advanced>>.

[float]
=== Code away!

You are now ready to start developing. Changes to your files should be picked up automatically. Server side changes will
cause the {kib} server to reboot.

[float]
=== More information

* <<running-kibana-advanced>>

* <<sample-data>>

* <<kibana-debugging>>

* <<building-kibana>>

* <<development-plugin-resources>>

include::running-kibana-advanced.asciidoc[]

include::sample-data.asciidoc[]

include::debugging.asciidoc[]

include::building-kibana.asciidoc[]

include::development-plugin-resources.asciidoc[]