The quickest and easiest method of running Dashy is using Docker (or another container engine). You can find installation instructions for your system in the [Docker Documentation](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/).
If you don't want to use Docker, then you can use one of Dashy's other supported installation methods instead, all of which are outlined in the [Deployment Docs](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/deployment.md).
Either replace the -v path to point to your config file, or leave it out. For a full list of available options, then see [Dashy with Docker](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/deployment.md#deploy-with-docker) Docs. If you'd prefer to use Docker Compose, then see [Dashy with Docker Compose](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/deployment.md#using-docker-compose) Docs. Alternate registries, architectures and pinned versions are also supported.
Your dashboard should now be up and running at `http://localhost:8080` (or your servers IP address/ domain, and the port that you chose). The first time you build, it may take a few minutes.
Your config file should be placed inside `user-data/` (in Docker, that's `/app/user-data/`).
This directory can also contain some optional assets you wish to use within your dashboard, like icons, fonts, styles, scripts, etc.
Any files placed here will be served up to the root of the domain, and override the contents of `public/`.
For example, if you had `user-data/favicon.ico` this would be accessible at `http://my-dashy-instance.local/favicon.ico`
Example Files in `user-data`:
-`conf.yml` - This is the only file that is compulsary, it's your main Dashy config
-`**.yml` - Include more config files, if you'd like to have multiple pages, see [Multi-page support](/docs/pages-and-sections#multi-page-support) for docs
-`favicon.ico` - The default favicon, shown in the browser's tab title
-`initialization.html` - Static HTML page displayed before the app has finished compiling, see [`public/initialization.html`](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/public/initialization.html)
-`robots.txt` - Search engine crawl rules, override this if you want your dashboard to be indexable
-`manifest.json` - PWA configuration file, for installing Dashy on mobile devices
-`index.html` - The main index page which initializes the client-side app, copy it from [`/public/index.html`](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/public/index.html)
-`**.html` - Write your own HTML pages, and access them at `http://my-dashy-instance.local/my-page.html`
-`fonts/` - Custom fonts (be sure to include the ones already in [`public/fonts`](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/tree/master/public/fonts)
-`item-icons/` - To use your own icons for items on your dashboard, see [Icons --> Local Icons](/docs/icons#local-icons)
-`web-icons/` - Override Dashy logo
-`widget-resources/` - Fonts, icons and assets for custom widgets
Config is written in [YAML Format](https://yaml.org/), and saved in [`/user-data/conf.yml`](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/user-data/conf.yml).
- [`pageInfo`](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/configuring.md#pageinfo) - Dashboard meta data, like title, description, nav bar links and footer text
- [`appConfig`](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/configuring.md#appconfig-optional) - Dashboard settings, like themes, authentication, language and customization
- [`sections`](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/configuring.md#section) - An array of sections, each including an array of items
- It's also possible to edit your config directly through the UI, and changes will be saved in this file
- Check your config against Dashy's schema, with `docker exec -it [container-id] yarn validate-config`
- You might find it helpful to look at some examples, a collection of which can be [found here](https://gist.github.com/Lissy93/000f712a5ce98f212817d20bc16bab10)
Once you've got Dashy setup, you'll want to ensure the container is properly healthy, secured, backed up and kept up-to-date. All this is covered in the [Management Docs](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/management.md).
If you need any help or support in getting Dashy running, head over to the [Discussions](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/discussions) page. If you think you've found a bug, please do [raise it](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/issues/new/choose) so it can be fixed. For contact options, see the [Support Page](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/.github/SUPPORT.md).
If you're enjoying Dashy, and have a few minutes to spare, please do take a moment to look at the [Contributing Page](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/contributing.md). Huge thanks to [everyone](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy/blob/master/docs/credits.md) who has already helped out!
You can also easily run the app on your system without Docker. For this [Git](https://git-scm.com/downloads), [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/), and [Yarn](https://yarnpkg.com/) are required.
Don't have a server? No problem! You can run Dashy for free on Netlify (as well as many [other cloud providers](/docs/deployment#deploy-to-cloud-service)). All you need it a GitHub account.
