Install and set up dd

Written for dd_emailforge v0.9.2

Keys, screens, and commands may differ in other versions.

What you need

A Mac or Linux computer. Ready-made builds exist for macOS and Linux, on both Intel/AMD (x86_64) and ARM (aarch64, including Apple silicon) processors. There's no Windows build in v0.9.2.
A terminal with curl and tar. Both come with macOS and most Linux systems.
Node.js 20 or newer. You need it to preview and export. The app opens and edits templates without it, but preview and export won't work. Check your version with:
```
node --version
```
If it's missing or older than v20, install the current LTS version from nodejs.org.

Step 1: Install the app

Copy this into your terminal and press Enter:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ldnddev/dd_emailforge/main/install.sh | bash

To install exactly the version these guides were written for, pin it:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ldnddev/dd_emailforge/main/install.sh | VERSION=v0.9.2 bash

Screenshot placeholder

Image not captured yet. Terminal showing the install command finishing successfully

Planned file: source/images/emailforge/install-and-setup/install-and-setup-01-install-complete.png

Alt text: A terminal window showing the dd_emailforge install script finishing

The installer:

puts the app at ~/.local/bin/dd_emailforge,
writes the app's color theme to ~/.config/ldnddev/dd_emailforge_theme.yml, and
creates a ~/.config/ldnddev/dd_emailforge/templates/ folder. (This folder isn't used yet in v0.9.2, so you can ignore it.)

Check that it worked:

dd_emailforge --version

You should see dd_emailforge 0.9.2. To see every command, run dd_emailforge --help.

A terminal showing dd_emailforge help output with its list of commands

If you see "command not found", ~/.local/bin isn't on your PATH yet. See FAQ and troubleshooting.

Step 2: Create a template folder

Each email template lives in its own folder. The quickest start is a starter: a ready-made template you can change. There are four: welcome, newsletter, promo, and transactional.

This creates a folder called ldnddev-monthly from the newsletter starter. It's the one we use in Build your first email. (If you leave out --from, you get the welcome starter.)

dd_emailforge init ./ldnddev-monthly --from newsletter

Step 3: Install MJML in the folder

dd_emailforge uses a free tool called MJML to turn your template into email-ready HTML. Install it inside the template folder:

cd ldnddev-monthly
npm install

You'll do this once for each new template folder. init doesn't do it for you; it just reminds you with a cd <folder> && npm install line. (You can skip it if mjml is already installed on your computer and on your PATH.)

Important

If you skip npm install, the app still opens and edits your template, but preview and export fail. dd_emailforge doesn't download MJML on its own.

Step 4: Open the template

From inside the folder, run:

dd_emailforge .

Next time, just run dd_emailforge with no folder. It reopens the last template you had open.

To quit, press Ctrl+Q. (Pressing q on its own does nothing, so you won't quit by accident.)

Tip

Make your terminal window at least 48 columns wide, and ideally much wider. In very narrow windows the app shows only the Structure panel, and the shortcut bar at the bottom drops some keys.

What's in a template folder

File or folder	What it is
`template.json`	Your template. This is the file dd_emailforge edits and saves.
`images/`	A place for local images.
`package.json`	Tells `npm install` which MJML version to install.
`node_modules/`, `package-lock.json`	Created by `npm install`.
`.gitignore`	Keeps temporary files out of version control.
`template.mjml`, `template.html`	Created when you export. `template.html` is the file you send.

For developers: install options

Build from a clone (needs Rust/cargo): ./install.sh. To use a prebuilt release from a clone instead: ./install.sh --from-release.

Uninstall from a clone: ./install.sh uninstall. Without a clone:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ldnddev/dd_emailforge/main/install.sh | bash -s -- uninstall

Updating: re-run the install command. It replaces the binary in place and leaves an existing theme file alone. Downloads are checked against the release's .sha256.
Environment overrides for the installer: PREFIX, BIN_DIR, CONFIG_DIR, XDG_CONFIG_HOME, plus VERSION to pin a release.
npm install installs the MJML version pinned in the folder's package.json (mjml ^5.4.0). dd_emailforge always calls the Node mjml compiler. It doesn't fall back to npx or another MJML engine.

Previous: dd_emailforge overview · Next: A tour of the app

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Install and set up dd_emailforge