Installation

To install siteQL locally

1. Complete Prerequisites.

Make sure you have completed the prerequisites.

2. (Optional) Fork the repository

Fork the repository as your own repo if you wish to build a project on top of siteQL.

3. Clone the repository to your local machine

First, navigate to the folder where you want to store the project on your local machine using the terminal. Then run this command to clone your fork:

git clone https://github.com/<YOUR_GITHUB_ACCOUNT_NAME>/siteQL.git

Ensure to Replace <YOUR_GITHUB_ACCOUNT_NAME> with your actual GitHub username. This command creates a copy of the repository on your computer where you can make changes.

4. Navigate to the project directory

After cloning is complete, change your current directory to the newly created project folder:

cd siteQL

This command opens the project folder where you’ll find all the source code and project files. Note that the directory name is case-sensitive, so make sure to use the exact same capitalization as shown in the previous step.

5. Install the required dependencies

Run the following command in your terminal to install all the necessary packages defined in the project’s package.json file:

npm i

This command (shorthand for npm install) will automatically download and set up all required Node.js packages, including the NextJS framework and other dependencies needed for the front-end. The installation process may take several minutes depending on your internet connection speed.

6. Start your SQL database service

Before running the application, ensure your SQL database service is active and running:

• If using XAMPP: Open the XAMPP Control Panel and click the “Start” button next to the MySQL service. The status indicator should turn green when the service is running.
• If using a standalone SQL Server: Verify that the service is running in your system’s Services management console.
• If using a cloud-hosted SQL database: No action needed, as the service should be continuously available.

This step is crucial because siteQL requires an active database connection to function properly. Without a running SQL service, you may encounter connection errors when trying to start the application.

7. Start the NextJS frontend server

npm run dev

Open your browser and visit http://localhost:3000 to see the application running.