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Add Windows installation guide for improved accessibility #3808

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Add Windows installation guide for improved accessibility
SinhaS12 Jan 25, 2026
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Merge branch 'develop' into windows-installation-guide
SinhaS12 Jan 28, 2026
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71 changes: 71 additions & 0 deletions contributor_docs/installation.md
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Expand Up @@ -83,6 +83,77 @@ If you don't have the full server environment running, you can launch a one-off

12. `$ docker-compose -f docker-compose-development.yml run app --rm bash -l`


## Installation Guide for Windows Users
_Note_:If you're using Windows, follow these steps instead of the manual installation guide above. This guide walks you through setting up the p5.js Web Editor without needing WSL or nvm.
What you'll need
1. Windows 10 or later
2. Admin rights to install software
3. About 30 minutes

Step-by-step setup
1. Get Node.js
Instead of using nvm (which needs extra setup on Windows), just download Node.js directly:

Go to https://nodejs.org/download/release/v18.20.8/
Download the .msi file for your system (most likely node-v18.20.8-x64.msi)
Run it and click through the installer - the defaults are fine
Make sure "Add to PATH" stays checked

Open Command Prompt (search cmd in the Start menu) and type:
node -v
You should see v18.20.8
2. Update npm
Still in Command Prompt:
`npm install -g npm@10.8.2`
Check it worked:
`npm -v`
Should show 10.8.2
3. Install Git
Download from `https://git-scm.com/download/win` and install with the default settings. This gives you Git Bash, which you'll use for the rest of the setup.
4. Fork and clone the repo

Go to `https://github.com/processing/p5.js-web-editor`
Click Fork (top right)
Open Git Bash and go where you want the project:

cd ~/Documents

Clone your fork (use your GitHub username):

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/p5.js-web-editor.git
5. Install dependencies
In Git Bash:
cd p5.js-web-editor
`npm install`
This takes a few minutes. Grab some coffee.
6. Set up MongoDB

Download from `https://www.mongodb.com/try/download/community`
Pick Windows, download the MSI
Run it, choose Complete installation
Check "Install MongoDB as a Service"

To verify it's running, open Command Prompt as admin and type:
net start MongoDB
7. Set up your environment file
Back in Git Bash:
`cp .env.example .env`
This creates your local config file. You can edit .env later if you need GitHub login or file uploads.
8. Start the server
`npm start`
Wait until you see "Server is running on port 8000"
9. Check it works
Open your browser and go to `http://localhost:8000`
You should see the p5.js Web Editor!
Troubleshooting

"node is not recognized" - Restart Command Prompt after installing Node
npm install errors - Try deleting the node_modules folder and running npm install again
MongoDB won't start - Run Command Prompt as administrator
Port 8000 already in use - Close any other servers or check Task Manager


## S3 Bucket Configuration

See [this configuration guide](./s3_configuration.md) for information about how to configure your own S3 bucket. These instructions were adapted from [this gist](https://gist.github.com/catarak/70c9301f0fd1ac2d6b58de03f61997e3).
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