# Quickstart

> Create a portal, preview it, and build it for production.

> **Caution: Preview**
> The RapiDoc Portal packages are not on npm yet. Until they are, run the CLI from a checkout of the [RapiDoc monorepo](https://github.com/rapi-doc/RapiDoc): `node <monorepo>/packages/rapidoc-cli/src/index.js <command>` instead of `npx rapidoc <command>`.

## Prerequisites

- Node.js 22.12 or later
- One or more OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1 or Swagger 2.0 files (optional: the starter includes one)

## Create a portal

**Scaffold the project**

```bash
npm create rapidoc@latest my-portal
```

In a repository that already has OpenAPI files, run `npx rapidoc init` there instead. It finds the specs and asks which to list under `apis:`, the site title, and whether to install the dependencies, then prints the command that does the same without questions. Options: `--title "Acme Developers"`, `--spec <file>` (repeatable), `--no-install`, `--force` to overwrite existing files, and `--yes` to take the defaults without asking.

**Start the dev server**

```bash
cd my-portal
npm run dev
```

The portal opens on `http://localhost:4321`. Guide edits appear immediately; a change to `rapidoc.config.yaml` or a spec restarts the server.

**Make it yours**

Edit `rapidoc.config.yaml`: the site title and logo, the theme color, the header tabs and the sidebar. Write guides in `docs/`. See [Configuration](/docs/configuration/overview/) and [Writing guides](/docs/writing/markdown/).

**Build for production**

```bash
npm run build
```

The static site is written to `dist/`. Upload it to any static host: see [Static hosting](/docs/deploy/static-hosting/).

## What the starter contains

```text
my-portal/
├── rapidoc.config.yaml   # site, header, tabs, theme, APIs
├── package.json          # dev, build and validate scripts
├── specs/api.yaml        # a starter spec (or your own specs)
├── docs/
│   ├── index.markdoc     # the home page
│   ├── getting-started.md
│   └── guides/overview.markdoc
└── .gitignore            # node_modules/, dist/, .rapidoc-temp/
```

Read on in [Project structure](/docs/getting-started/project-structure/).

## Check your specs in CI

```bash
npx rapidoc validate
```

It checks every local spec in `apis:` against the OpenAPI schema and exits with code 1 on an error. See [Validate](/docs/tools/validate/).