Quick Start Guide

The easiest way to quickly setup and install dotCMS starter site is by using the standard dotCMS Docker images.

Installation Steps#

Have Docker installed. See installing Docker if you do not have it installed.
Follow this Getting Started guide.

Other Notes#

Make sure that docker has enough memory to run dotCMS. We recommend dedicating at least 2 CPUs and 4GB RAM assigned to your docker environment.
If the DOT_INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD environmental variable is not specified, the password used to access the dotCMS admin@dotcms.com account will be randomly generated on first startup. It can be found in the logs on startup, similar to the following:

#######################################################################
##      NOTICE: admin@dotcms.com password set to Bzqk#s4=TCwe3@      ##
##        WARNING: Once logged in. Please change this password.      ##
#######################################################################

If you are loading the full demo site, dotCMS may take 5 minutes or more to startup the first time.
You will know that the server has started up when you see message like this in the log files: 20-May-20XX 17:41:24.463 INFO [main] org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start Server startup in 157516 ms

Accessing your dotCMS#

To view the front end of the dotCMS site, enter the following address in your browser:

Please note: To access the dotCMS Admin tools you should always use a HTTPS/SSL port as many of the cookies used to manage session are marked https-only. Be sure the appropriate ports are open.

https://local.dotcms.site:8443

If this address does not work due to port closures, DNS issues, or other reasons, you can achieve the same result through either of the following:

To log in to the Admin console on the starter site:

In your browser, go to https://local.dotcms.site:8443/dotAdmin (or the comparable localhost address)
Login using the admin credentials from the dotCMS log files:

Username	`admin@dotcms.com`
Password	(Displayed in the startup logs. See above)