marko/docs/installing.md
2017-08-10 11:52:49 -06:00

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# Installation
## Trying out Marko
If you just want to play around with Marko in the browser, head on over to our [Try Online](https://markojs.com/try-online) feature. You'll be able to develop a Marko application right in your browser.
## Creating new apps
If you're starting from scratch, [`marko-cli`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/marko-cli) provides a starter app to
get you going quickly. To get started:
```bash
npm install marko-cli --global
marko create hello-world
cd hello-world
npm install # or yarn
npm start
```
## Direct usage
### Installing
The Marko compiler runs on [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) and can be installed using [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/marko/tutorial):
```
npm install marko --save
```
or using [yarn](https://yarnpkg.com):
```
yarn add marko
```
### In the browser
Let's say we have a simple view that we want to render in the browser: `hello.marko`
_hello.marko_
```marko
<h1>Hello ${input.name}</h1>
```
First, let's create a `client.js` that requires the view and renders it to the body:
_client.js_
```js
var helloComponent = require('./hello');
helloComponent.renderSync({ name:'Marko' })
.appendTo(document.body);
```
We will also create a barebones HTML page to host our application:
_index.html_
```
<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Marko Example</title>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>
```
Now, we need to bundle these files for use in the browser. We can use a tool called [`lasso`](https://github.com/lasso-js/lasso) to do that for us, so let's get it (and the marko plugin) installed:
```
npm install --global lasso-cli
npm install --save lasso-marko
```
Now we can build our bundle for the browser:
```
lasso --main client.js --plugins lasso-marko --inject-into index.html
```
This builds a `client.js` file to the newly created `static/` directory and injects the required `<script>` tags into our HTML page to load our application in the browser. If we had css in the view then `<link>` tags would have also been added.
Load up that page in your browser and you should see `Hello Marko` staring back at you.
### On the server
#### Require Marko views
Marko provides a custom Node.js require extension that allows you to `require` Marko views exactly like a standard JavaScript module. Take the following example `server.js`:
_hello.marko_
```marko
<div>
Hello ${input.name}!
</div>
```
_server.js_
```js
// The following line installs the Node.js require extension
// for `.marko` files. This should be called once near the start
// of your application before requiring any `*.marko` files.
require('marko/node-require');
var fs = require('fs');
// Load a Marko view by requiring a .marko file:
var hello = require('./hello');
var out = fs.createWriteStream('hello.html', { encoding: 'utf8' });
hello.render({ name: 'Frank' }, out);
```
Using the Node.js require extension is completely optional. If you prefer to not use the Node.js require extension then you will need to precompile all of the marko templates using [Marko CLI](https://github.com/marko-js/marko-cli):
```bash
marko compile hello.marko
```
This will produce a `hello.marko.js` file next to the original template. The generated `.js` file will be what gets loaded by the Node.js runtime. It is important to leave off the `.marko` extension when requiring a Marko template so that the `.js` will be resolved correctly.
If you wish to only use the require extension in development, you can conditionally require it.
```js
if (!process.env.NODE_ENV) {
require('marko/node-require');
}
```
#### Serving a simple page
Let's update `server.js` to serve the view from an http server:
_server.js_
```js
// Allow requiring `.marko` files
require('marko/node-require');
var http = require('http');
var hello = require('./hello');
var port = 8080;
http.createServer((req, res) => {
// let the browser know html is coming
res.setHeader('content-type', 'text/html');
// render the output to the `res` output stream
hello.render({ name:'Marko' }, res);
}).listen(port);
```
And give `hello.marko` some content:
_hello.marko_
```marko
<h1>Hello ${input.name}</h1>
```
Start the server (`node server.js`) and open your browser to [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080) where you should see the heading `Hello Marko`.
#### Initializing server-rendered components
Marko automatically injects a list of components that need to be mounted in the browser, right before the closing `</body>` tag (as such, it required that you include a `<body>` in your rendered output).
However, you still need to bundle the CSS & JavaScript for your page and include the proper `link`, `style`, and `script` tags. Luckily, the `lasso` taglib will do all the heavy lifting for you.
First install `lasso` and `lasso-marko`:
```
npm install --save lasso lasso-marko
```
Next, in your page or layout view, add the `lasso-head` and `lasso-body` tags:
_layout.marko_
```marko
<!doctype>
<html>
<head>
<title>Hello world</title>
<lasso-head/>
</head>
<body>
<include(input.body)/>
<lasso-body/>
</body>
</html>
```
Finally, configure your server to serve the static files that `lasso` generates:
_server.js_
```js
app.use(require('lasso/middleware').serveStatic());
```