Running the application locally

Requirements

To run NHS.UK frontend locally you'll need to:

set up git
install Node.js We recommend to use the long-term support (LTS) version of Nodejs, rather than the latest beta version.

Type git --version to check if git is installed. This should print a version number like "git version 2.18.0".

Type node -v to check if Node is installed. This should print a version number like "v8.11.3".

Fork the repository first, if you're an external contributor.

You can clone the repository directly if you're a member of the NHS.UK GitHub organisation

git clone git@github.com:nhsuk/nhsuk-frontend.git nhsuk-frontend

Otherwise you'll have to clone your own fork

git clone https://github.com/[Username]/nhsuk-frontend.git nhsuk-frontend

Replace '[Username]' in the git clone command above with your own GitHub username.

We use node package manager (npm) to manage third party dependencies.

Whilst in the project directory you will need to install the dependencies listed in package.json

cd nhsuk-frontend

npm install

This will build files, serve web pages and watch for changes when you save a file.

npm start

The application will be available at http://localhost:3000.