---
title: "Getting Started"
weight: 2
description: >

This page tells you how to get started with the Compose theme, including installation and basic configuration.

Prerequisites and installation

Install Hugo

You need a recent extended version (we recommend version 0.61 or later) of Hugo to do local builds and previews of sites (like this one) that uses this theme.

If you install from the release page, make sure to get the extended Hugo version, which supports sass; you may need to scroll down the list of releases to see it.

For comprehensive Hugo documentation, see gohugo.io.

Run your site with compose theme

You could go with the options right below.

Option 1 (my favorite)

This option enables you to load compose theme as a hugo module.

git clone https://github.com/onweru/compose/
cd compose/exampleSite/
hugo server

There's one drawback to this technique. Your site would always use the most up-to-date version of the theme. This might break your site if there are drastic changes that you don't like.

You can neutralize that drawback by forking the repo instead and following the same approach. Be sure the edit the theme = ["github.com/onweru/compose"] from the config.toml file appropriately.

⚠️ If you choose Option 2 or Option 3 below, ensure you edit these lines in the config.toml file as advised on the comments

Option 2 (recommended)

Generate a new Hugo site and add this theme as a Git submodule inside your themes folder:

hugo new site yourSiteName
cd yourSiteName
git init
git submodule add https://github.com/onweru/compose/ themes/compose
cp -a themes/compose/exampleSite/* .

Then run

hugo server

Hurray!

Option 3 (Great for testing quickly)

You can run your site directly from the exampleSite. To do so, use the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/onweru/compose/
cd compose/exampleSite/
hugo server --themesDir ../..

Although, option 3 is great for quick testing, it is somewhat problematic when you want to update your theme. You would need to be careful not to overwrite your changes.

Once set, jump over to the config.toml file and start configuring your site.