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Installation Overview

As of version 7 (and above), the DSpace application is split into a "frontend" (User Interface) and a "backend" (Server API). Most institutions will want to install BOTH. However, you can decide whether to run them on the same machine or separate machines.

The DSpace Frontend consists of a User Interface built on Angular.io. It cannot be run alone, as it requires a valid DSpace Backend to function. The frontend provides all user-facing functionality
The DSpace Backend consists of a Server API ("server" webapp), built on Spring Boot. It can be run standalone, however it has no user interface. The backend provides all machine-based interfaces, including the REST API, OAI-PMH, SWORD (v1 and v2) and RDF.

We recommend installing the Backend first, as the Frontend requires a valid Backend to run properly.

Installing the Backend (Server API)

These installation instructions are a work-in-progress and based heavily on the DSpace 6.x installation instructions. Feedback or improvements are welcome.

Installing the Frontend (User Interface)

These installation instructions are a work-in-progress. They do NOT yet include production-ready installation scenarios for running the (Angular) frontend via production tools like PM2 or Passenger. Feedback or improvements are welcome.

Frontend Requirements

UNIX-like OS or Microsoft Windows

UNIX-like OS (Linux, HP/UX, Mac OSX, etc.) : Many distributions of Linux/Unix come with some of the dependencies below pre-installed or easily installed via updates. You should consult your particular distribution's documentation or local system administrators to determine what is already available.
Microsoft Windows: While DSpace can be run on Windows servers, most institutions tend to run it on a UNIX-like OS. However, we've added notes

Node.js (v10.x or v12.x)

Node.js can be found at https://nodejs.org/. We recommend running a Long Term Support (LTS) version (latest is 12.x). Non-LTS versions are not recommended.
Node.js is a Javascript runtime that also provides npm (Node Package Manager). It is used to both build and run the frontend.

Yarn (v1.x)

Yarn v1.x is available at https://classic.yarnpkg.com/
Yarn is used to build/install the frontend.

DSpace 7.x Backend (see above)

The DSpace Frontend cannot function without an installed DSpace Backend. Follow the instructions above.

Frontend Installation

At this time, installation requires checking out the codebase via Git. In later Beta releases, we will provide prepackaged downloads.

First, Install all the Installing DSpace (NEW) listed above.
Download our "dspace-angular" application (which is the DSpace 7 user interface) using Git. All you should need to do is the steps in the "Quick Start" at: https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/#quick-start
# clone the repo git clone https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular.git # change directory to our repo cd dspace-angular # install the local dependencies yarn install

Modify the Frontend configuration to point at your DSpace Backend

By default the Frontend will be configured to use the Demo Backend at https://dspace7.4science.cloud/server/

Modify the "rest" section of the [dspace-angular]/config/environment.default.js configuration file, pointing it at your installed DSpace Backend. For example:

// This example is valid if your Backend is running at http://localhost:8080/server/
rest: {
   ssl: false,
   host: 'localhost',
   port: 8080,
   // NOTE: Space is capitalized because 'namespace' is a reserved string in TypeScript
   nameSpace: '/server/api'
}

Alternatively, if you want, you can copy the "environment.default.js" to a new file called "environment.prod.js" and modify that new file.

Start the application
# build and start the application yarn start
1. To stop the application at any time, use Ctrl + C
After a few minutes, the user interface will be running on your local machine.
1. Visit http://localhost:3000/
2. For an example of what the default frontend looks like, visit the Demo Frontend: https://dspace7-demo.atmire.com/