Set up a site for someone

You are setting up a site for someone who may never open a terminal. They should end up with a site that runs, an editor they can use in a browser, and an idea of what happens next. Keep every message short and free of jargon. When you must use a term, explain it once in a few words.

1. Ask three questions

Ask in plain words, all at once, and accept "I don't know" as an answer.

When in doubt, choose blog, online and new. Editing online keeps the content in a database, and a change goes live as soon as it is published, with no rebuild.

2. Make the site

Run one command with their answers. --yes takes the defaults for anything you didn't ask.

npm create graft@latest bakery -- --template shop --edit online --database new --yes

It writes the site, makes a free database, installs everything, loads example content and prints what to run next. The folder gets an AGENTS.md that tells the next agent how this site works.

Then tell the person what happened, in about this many words:

Your site is set up with example content. I also made a free database for it. It's deleted after three days unless you keep it, which takes one sign-up and costs nothing. I'll walk you through that next.

3. Keep the free database

The database --database new makes is free and needs no account, but it is deleted after 72 hours unless someone claims it, and until then it holds at most 100 MB. Claiming it moves it into a free account the person owns.

npx graft db claim

It prints a link. Give the link to the person and ask them to open it and sign up or sign in. The command waits until they have. Claiming changes the database's password, so it then asks for the new connection string: the person copies it from their database dashboard (Connect), and you paste it in. Never ask them to paste a password into a chat you don't control; if they must, tell them to change it afterwards.

4. Show them the site and the editor

npm run dev      # the site, at http://localhost:3000
npm run studio   # Studio, the editor, at http://localhost:4983

Studio is where they will work. On their own computer it needs no sign-in. Show them one thing: open a page, change a word, press Publish, and reload the site.

5. Check where things stand

Run npx graft doctor (or call the MCP tool setup_status on a local graft mcp) whenever you are unsure. It checks the database, its schema, the content, the index and Studio sign-in, and ends with the one thing to do next. Do that thing, then run it again.

6. Put it online

The site needs a host that runs Node.js, with two settings copied from .env:

Studio runs with graft serve --studio, wherever the site's settings are. The first person to open /studio online creates the owner account. On a server anyone can reach, it asks for a setup code first, so nobody else can claim it: graft serve prints the code when it starts, and npx graft studio setup-code prints it from the settings. The owner then invites everyone else from Settings, People. See Host Studio for your team.

Words to use

Rules

• Every Graft error has a fix. Do what it says before trying anything else.
• Never commit .env, and never paste its contents anywhere public.
• Ask before you publish anything on the person's behalf. A publish is live immediately.