CommandBox Installation
The easiest way to install and run ContentBox CMS
Last updated
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The easiest way to install and run ContentBox CMS
Last updated
Was this helpful?
is a ColdFusion (CFML) Command Line Interface (CLI), REPL, Package Manager and Embedded Server. We will leverage the CLI in CommandBox to install, deploy and configure ContentBox.
MacOS, Windows or Linux
JDK 8+
A clean, empty directory on your machine
Once you download and expand CommandBox you will have the box.exe or box binary, which you can place in your Windows Path or *Unix /usr/bin folder to have it available system-wide. Then open the binary and CommandBox will unpack itself your user's directory: {User}/.CommandBox. This happens only once and the next thing you know, you are in the CommandBox interactive shell!
We will be able to execute a-la-carte commands from our command line or go into the interactive shell for multiple commands. We recommend the interactive shell as it is faster and can remain open in your project root.
The first step in our adventure is to install the contentbox-cli package that will handle installation, scaffolding, and management of ContentBox sites.
Once installed you can always run contentbox help to get the list of available commands and help information.
Create a database in your RDBMS of choice. Make sure you note the name of the database, the connection details and the credentials for it. You will need them in the next step.
If you are using MySQL, make sure you use utf8mb4 for your database collation.
Now that we have our cli installed, go or create a new directory where we will create our site.
The wizard will take you by the hand and ask you all the relevant questions about your installation:
Name of your site
Which CFML Engine you want to run it on (Lucee5, Adobe 2018+)
Password of the CFML engine administrator
Password for the ColdBox HMVC Reinits
Database of choice (MySQL5+, MSSQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle)
Database credentials
Development or production site
Latest ContentBox version, specific or be bleeding edge
Confirm your settings and the installer will configure the entire site for you including ORM dialects, environment variables and much much more. It will also startup the chosen CFML server so you can continue with the web installer.
Tip: You can use the `install --help` command and see how you can install ContentBox in an automated fashion with no user-interaction.
The web installer will then take you through adding your first administrator user, email configurations and your production and development site in one box. Once you follow the wizard, ContentBox is up and running! Enjoy!
You can use the CommandBox commands to interact with the embedded server:
server stop to stop the server
server start to start the server
server restart to restart the server
server log to view the log files
server help to get help on your server commands
You now have a fully functional ContentBox installation with two sites: development and production. You can now start creating your content, themes, modules and much more.
You can download CommandBox from the official site: and install it in your preferred Operating System (Windows, Mac, Unix).
