# Before you begin

> Prerequisites for building a site with Docsy as a Hugo Module.

---

LLMS index: [llms.txt](/llms.txt)

---

This page describes the prerequisites for building a site that uses Docsy as a
Hugo Module.

## Install Hugo

You need a
[recent **extended** version](https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases)
(version 0.160.1 or later) of [Hugo](https://gohugo.io/)
to do local builds and previews of sites (like this one) that use Docsy. If you
install from the release page, make sure to get the `extended` Hugo version,
which supports
[SCSS](https://sass-lang.com/documentation/file.SCSS_FOR_SASS_USERS.html); you
may need to scroll down the list of releases to see it.

For the tool versions that Docsy officially supports, see
[Official support](/project/about/changelog/#official-support). For
comprehensive Hugo documentation, see [gohugo.io](https://gohugo.io).

### On Linux

If you've already installed Hugo, check your version:

```bash
hugo version
```

If the result is earlier than 0.160.1, or if you don't
see `Extended`, you'll need to install the latest version. You can see a
complete list of Linux installation options in
[Install Hugo](https://gohugo.io/installation/linux/). The following shows you
how to install Hugo from the release page:

1.  Go to the [Hugo releases](https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases) page.
2.  In the most recent release, scroll down until you find a list of
    **Extended** versions.
3.  Download the latest extended version.
4.  Create a new directory:

    ```bash
    mkdir hugo
    ```

5.  Extract the files you downloaded to `hugo`.

6.  Switch to your new directory:

    ```bash
    cd hugo
    ```

7.  Install Hugo:

    ```bash
    sudo install hugo /usr/bin
    ```

### On macOS

Install Hugo using [Brew](https://gohugo.io/installation/macos/#homebrew).

### As an `npm` module

You can conveniently install any Hugo version using [hugo-extended][] (replace
`latest` with the version you want to install):

```bash
npm install hugo-extended@latest --save-dev
```

## Install Go language

Hugo's commands for module management require that the Go programming language
is installed on your system. Check whether `go` is already installed:

```console
$ go version
go version go1.25.6
```

Ensure that you are using version 1.12 or higher.

If the `go` language is not installed on your system yet or if you need to
upgrade, go to the [download area](https://go.dev/dl/) of the Go website, choose
the installer for your system architecture and execute it. Afterwards, check for
a successful installation.

## Install Git VCS client

Hugo's commands for module management require that the `git` client is installed
on your system. Check whether `git` is already present in your system:

```console
$ git version
git version 2.52.0
```

If no `git` client is installed on your system yet, go to the
[Git website](https://git-scm.com/), download the installer for your system
architecture and execute it. Afterwards, check for a successful installation.

## Install Node.js

Docsy sources its Bootstrap and Font Awesome assets from npm, so you need
[Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) (which provides `npm`, the Node package manager)
to install them. Install or upgrade to the active [long-term support (LTS)
release][node-lts], then check your version:

```bash
node -v
```

You install these assets when you create your site, as described in the next
steps.

## Install PostCSS (optional) {#install-postcss}

This section applies to all [installation options](/docs/get-started/), not just
Hugo-module setups.

Docsy builds its CSS without [PostCSS](https://postcss.org/) by default -- the
shipped CSS targets the [Browserslist `defaults`][browserslist-defaults]
browsers -- so most sites don't need it. Install PostCSS only if:

- Your site has a **[right-to-left (RTL)][rtl]** language, or
- You post-process your own CSS with a project-root
  `postcss.config.{js,mjs,cjs}` file.

If either applies, install PostCSS from your project root:

```bash
npm install --save-dev autoprefixer postcss-cli
```

> [!NOTE]
>
> npm also installs [postcss][postcss] itself, as a peer dependency of the
> packages listed above. If you use a package manager that doesn't auto-install
> peer dependencies, such as Yarn, add `postcss` to the install command.

## What's next?

With all prerequisites installed, choose how to start off with your new Hugo
site

- [Start with a prepopulated site (for beginners)](example-site-as-template/)
- [Start site from scratch (for experts)](start-from-scratch/)

<!-- prettier-ignore-start -->
[browserslist-defaults]: https://github.com/browserslist/browserslist
[hugo-extended]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hugo-extended
[node-lts]: https://nodejs.org/en/about/releases/
[postcss]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/postcss
[rtl]: /docs/language/#right-to-left-languages
<!-- prettier-ignore-end -->