Let’s get started by creating a sandbox on your computer. Instead of jumping straight into building online, you’ll create a local space on your computer where you can experiment, make mistakes (it’s okay, we all do!), and discover how Drupal CMS works–no pressure!
In this tutorial, we’ll walk through how to set up this space using DDEV, a tool that makes it possible to build out your site at your own pace. It will help you get your Drupal CMS workspace up and running without you needing to know all of the technical details.
If you’re ready to move beyond evaluating Drupal CMS and want a solution that will allow you to start building a real site, keep reading.
Or, if you want to explore Drupal CMS in a browser, and are not worried about losing any of the work you do, go to Try out Drupal CMS and come back when you’re ready to start customizing your site.
How to install Drupal CMS using DDEV
Step #1: Install DDEV
DDEV is a tool we use to create a sandbox space on our computer for building web sites. Since Drupal CMS is a web-based tool, DDEV will make sure your computer has everything it needs to run Drupal CMS – then you’ll have everything you need to create your website.
The steps for installing DDEV depend on your computer’s operating system. Follow the instructions in the DDEV documentation to install it.
Confirm that it is installed on your machine by running the command ddev --version in the Terminal.
Step #2: Download Drupal CMS
Download the .zip file
Download the latest version of Drupal CMS from https://www.drupal.org/download-latest/cms.
Extract the .zip archive. This will result in a new drupal-cms/ directory.
Step #3: Install Drupal CMS in DDEV
Open a Terminal window and navigate with cd into the newly created drupal-cms/ directory.
Run this command:
./launch-drupal-cms.sh
This will take care of downloading any necessary files and setting up the Drupal CMS environment. When it’s complete, it will open the Drupal CMS installer in your browser.
You can find the URL of your local Drupal CMS site at any time by running the command ddev status from the root directory of your project.
You’ve now installed Drupal locally on your computer. Yay! 🎉
Step #4: Start / Stop
When you’re done using your local Drupal CMS installation, run the command ddev stop to shut it down. DDEV will keep the application, and you can pick up where you left off.
Start DDEV and your Drupal CMS project again by using the command ddev launch.
What’s next?
Wrap-up
In this tutorial, we walked through the steps required to get Drupal CMS running on your computer using DDEV. You’re now ready to set up Drupal CMS and start customizing your new site.
Additional resources
Moving Around the Command Line (Drupalize.Me)
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