Get Started
Up and running in one command
Install Chinaski on any Debian or Ubuntu host with one command — no repository to add, no toolchain to assemble. An offline bundle covers air-gapped and non-Debian systems.
Read the install guideWhat you need
A Debian-stable host
Any machine running Debian stable, Ubuntu LTS, or a derivative will work. A $5/month VPS is more than sufficient. So is an old laptop you have lying around.
sudo access
The installer needs root access to install system packages and configure nginx. After installation, Chinaski runs as a non-root user.
Twenty minutes
Installation takes about five minutes. Configuring your first site, writing your first page, and running your first build takes another fifteen. You'll have a live website in under half an hour.
From zero to published
1. Run the installer
On a Debian or Ubuntu host, run:
curl -fsSL https://www.chinaski.net/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- 1The installer uses apt to pull pre-compiled Perl packages — no C compiler, no CPAN wait. It creates the chinaski system user, writes the install to /var/www/chinaski1/, initialises a SQLite database, and starts the chinaski@1 service. The whole process takes about 30 seconds.
For non-Debian systems or air-gapped installs, see the full install guide.
2. Log in to the admin
The daemon binds to 127.0.0.1:3001 by default — accessible only from localhost. Point a reverse proxy (nginx or Caddy) at that port and open https://your-admin-domain/admin in a browser.
The install guide includes ready-to-use nginx and Caddy config examples.
3. Create your first page
In the admin, go to Pages → New Page. Add a title, a slug, and a body. Drop in a {{block:name}} shortcode to embed a reusable content block — a hero, a columns layout, a CTA. Save and publish.
4. Build the site
Click Build in the admin header. Chinaski runs the Template Toolkit builder, renders every published page and post to flat HTML, and writes the output to /var/www/chinaski1/output/. Point your public-facing web server at that directory.
5. Deploy
The output directory is a folder of plain HTML, CSS, and image files. Copy it to any host — S3, rsync to a CDN origin, nginx on the same machine — with no runtime dependency on the CMS. The CMS only runs on the machine you use for editing.
Full setup instructions
Complete setup, theming, and API documentation lives at docs.chinaski.net.
Read the documentation