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Installation Overview

When to use this page

Use this page when you need to choose a SkyCMS installation path and gather prerequisites before running setup.

Choose an installation path

  • Setup Wizard (recommended): interactive first-time configuration at /___setup for single-tenant deployments.
  • Environment-variable-first setup: preconfigure required settings for containerized and automated deployments.
  • Local development: run SkyCMS locally for development and testing.
  • Cloud deployment: deploy to Azure, AWS, or Cloudflare-backed hosting patterns.

Core prerequisites

  • .NET SDK (for local development).
  • A supported database connection string for ApplicationDbContextConnection.
  • A storage provider connection string for media and assets.
  • Access to your target platform (Azure, AWS, Docker host, or Cloudflare services).

Minimum required settings

At minimum, configure:

  • ConnectionStrings__ApplicationDbContextConnection
  • ConnectionStrings__StorageConnectionString
  • AzureBlobStorageEndPoint (often / for root-relative hosting)
  • CosmosPublisherUrl
  • CosmosAllowSetup (set to true only while completing setup)

See minimum-required-settings.md for full examples.

  1. Choose a deployment model and configure database/storage credentials.
  2. Start SkyCMS with CosmosAllowSetup=true.
  3. Complete setup at /___setup (storage, admin, publisher, optional email/CDN).
  4. Restart the application and sign in with the admin account.
  5. Run post-installation verification before opening access.

Post-install checklist

  • Admin login works.
  • File upload succeeds in File Manager.
  • Publisher URL is reachable.
  • First test page publishes correctly.
  • Email test passes (if configured).
  • CDN purge/invalidation works (if configured).

See post-installation.md.