kibana/docs/developer/getting-started/index.asciidoc

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

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

[discrete]
[[developing-on-windows]]
=== Developing on Windows

In order to support Windows development we currently require you to use one of the following:

- https://git-scm.com/download/win[Git bash] (other bash emulators like https://cmder.net/[Cmder] could work but we did not test them)
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about[WSL]

As well as installing https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145[Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015].

In addition we also require you to do the following:

- Install https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145[Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015]
- Enable the https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/get-started/enable-your-device-for-development[Windows Developer Mode]
- Enable https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/fsutil-8dot3name[8.3 filename support] by running the following command in a windows command prompt with admin rights `fsutil 8dot3name set 0`

Before running the steps listed below, please make sure you have installed everything 
that we require and listed above and that you are running all the commands from now on through Git bash or WSL.

[discrete]
[[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
----

[discrete]
=== 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/nvm-sh/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://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/install[yarn v1].

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.
____

In case you don't have an internet connection, the `yarn kbn bootstrap` command will 
fail. As it is likely you have the required node_modules in the 
offline mirror, you can try to run the step in offline mode by using:

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

In any other circumstance where you want to force the node_modules install step 
you can use:

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

(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]. If you want more 
information about how to actively develop over packages please read <<monorepo-packages>>)

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

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

NOTE: Running this command is only necessary in rare circumstance where you need to recover
a consistent state when problems arise. If you need to run this command often, complete
this form to provide feedback: https://ela.st/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
----

[discrete]
=== Configure environmental settings

[[increase-nodejs-heap-size]]
[discrete]
==== 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"`.

[discrete]
=== Run {es}

Run the latest {es} 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.

[discrete]
=== Run {kib}

In another terminal window, start up {kib}. Include {kib-repo}tree/{branch}/examples[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>>.

[discrete]
=== Install pre-commit hook (optional)

In case you want to run a couple of checks like linting or check the file casing of the files to commit, we provide 
a way to install a pre-commit hook. To configure it you just need to run the following:

[source,bash]
----
node scripts/register_git_hook
----

After the script completes the pre-commit hook will be created within the file `.git/hooks/pre-commit`.
If you choose to not install it, don't worry, we still run a quick ci check to provide feedback earliest as we can about the same checks. 

[discrete]
=== 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.

[discrete]
=== More information

* <<running-kibana-advanced>>

* <<sample-data>>

* <<kibana-debugging>>

* <<building-kibana>>

* <<development-plugin-resources>>

include::running-kibana-advanced.asciidoc[leveloffset=+1]

include::sample-data.asciidoc[leveloffset=+1]

include::debugging.asciidoc[leveloffset=+1]

include::building-kibana.asciidoc[leveloffset=+1]

include::development-plugin-resources.asciidoc[leveloffset=+1]

include::monorepo-packages.asciidoc[leveloffset=+1]