Running from Node.js¶

Install and run Silex from npm, source code, or npx for development and self-hosted setups.

Overview¶

Instead of Docker, you can run Silex directly on your server using Node.js. This gives you more control over the process manager (systemd, PM2, supervisor) and lets you customize the startup script.

Three installation methods:

npm package — Recommended for deployment
npx — Quick testing without installation
Source code — For development and contributing

Prerequisites¶

Node.js 18 or later
npm 8 or later (comes with Node)
Git (if cloning from source)

Setup from npm¶

1. Install globally or locally¶

Global install:

npm install -g @silexlabs/silex-platform

Or per-project:

mkdir my-silex && cd my-silex
npm install @silexlabs/silex-platform

2. Create .env file¶

cat > .env << EOF
SILEX_SESSION_SECRET=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
SILEX_PORT=6805
SILEX_URL=http://localhost:6805
STORAGE_CONNECTORS=fs
HOSTING_CONNECTORS=fs,download
SILEX_FS_ROOT=./silex/storage
SILEX_FS_HOSTING_ROOT=./silex/hosting
EOF

3. Start the server¶

With global install:

silex-platform

With local install:

npx @silexlabs/silex-platform

Or add to package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "silex-platform"
  }
}

Then run:

npm start

The server starts at the URL in your .env file (default: http://localhost:6805).

Quick test with npx¶

No installation needed:

npx @silexlabs/silex-platform

This downloads, installs, and runs the latest version. The server listens on port 6805 by default.

Stop with Ctrl+C. All data is stored in ./silex/storage and ./silex/hosting in your current directory.

Setup from source code¶

For development or building plugins:

git clone https://github.com/silexlabs/Silex.git
cd Silex
npm install
npm run build

Run the dev server:

cd packages/silex-platform
npm start

Or run from the monorepo root:

npm -w packages/silex-platform start

Want to contribute? After cloning, check GitHub Issues for beginner-friendly tasks. See also Contribute to Silex.

Environment variables¶

All variables can be set in a .env file or passed as command-line arguments:

SILEX_PORT=6805 npx @silexlabs/silex-platform

See docker.md#environment-variables for the full list.

Key variables for Node setup:

Variable	Default	Purpose
`SILEX_PORT`	6805	Port to listen on
`SILEX_HOST`	localhost	Hostname (0.0.0.0 for remote access)
`SILEX_URL`	http://localhost:6805	Public URL users visit
`SILEX_SESSION_SECRET`	(none)	Random key for session encryption
`SILEX_SERVER_CONFIG`	.silex.js	Path to config file (relative to cwd)
`SILEX_CLIENT_CONFIG`	client-config.js	Path to client config file

Setting SILEX_HOST for remote access¶

By default, the server only listens on localhost. To allow remote connections:

SILEX_HOST=0.0.0.0 npx @silexlabs/silex-platform

Then access from another machine: http://your-server-ip:6805

Running as a system service¶

With systemd (Linux)¶

Create /etc/systemd/system/silex.service:

[Unit]
Description=Silex Website Builder
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=silex
WorkingDirectory=/home/silex/silex-instance
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /usr/bin/silex-platform
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

# Environment
Environment="SILEX_PORT=6805"
Environment="SILEX_URL=https://silex.example.com"
Environment="SILEX_SESSION_SECRET=your-random-secret"

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Create the silex user:

sudo useradd -m -s /usr/sbin/nologin silex
sudo mkdir -p /home/silex/silex-instance
sudo chown silex:silex /home/silex/silex-instance

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable silex
sudo systemctl start silex

Check status:

sudo systemctl status silex
sudo journalctl -u silex -f

With PM2¶

Install PM2:

npm install -g pm2

Create ecosystem.config.js in your Silex instance directory:

module.exports = {
  apps: [
    {
      name: 'silex',
      script: 'silex-platform',
      instances: 1,
      exec_mode: 'cluster',
      env: {
        SILEX_PORT: 6805,
        SILEX_URL: 'https://silex.example.com',
        SILEX_SESSION_SECRET: 'your-random-secret',
        STORAGE_CONNECTORS: 'fs',
        HOSTING_CONNECTORS: 'fs,download',
      },
    },
  ],
}

Start:

pm2 start ecosystem.config.js
pm2 save
pm2 startup

View logs:

pm2 logs silex

Custom server config¶

You can modify server behavior with a config file:

SILEX_SERVER_CONFIG=./my-config.js npx @silexlabs/silex-platform

Create my-config.js:

const GitlabConnector = require('@silexlabs/silex-plugins').GitlabConnector

module.exports = async function (config) {
  // Add a storage connector
  config.addStorageConnector(
    new GitlabConnector(config, {
      clientId: process.env.GITLAB_CLIENT_ID,
      clientSecret: process.env.GITLAB_CLIENT_SECRET,
      domain: process.env.GITLAB_DOMAIN,
    })
  )
}

See Server configuration for the full ServerConfig API.

Debugging¶

Enable debug mode:

SILEX_DEBUG=true npx @silexlabs/silex-platform

This reloads the config file on each request and logs detailed startup info.

Troubleshooting¶

Port already in use¶

Change the port:

SILEX_PORT=8080 npx @silexlabs/silex-platform

Or find and kill the process using port 6805:

lsof -i :6805
kill -9 <PID>

EACCES permission denied¶

npm tried to install globally without sudo. Fix npm permissions:

mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH

Then add to your shell profile (.bashrc, .zshrc):

export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH

Module not found errors¶

Reinstall dependencies:

npm install
npm run build