Basic Installation

System Requirements

eXist-db runs on any system Java runs on. So all recent versions of Linux, macOS, and Windows are ok. The following requirements must be met:

• At least Java version 8 (since eXist-db 3.0)

• About 200Mb of disk space for the installation

• At least 512Mb memory to run

Administrative privileges are not required to install or run eXist-db, but certain installation procedures are not possible without administrative privileges.

…> java -version
java version ""1.8.0_60-ea""
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_60-ea-b19)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.60-b19, mixed mode)

Installing eXist-db

The first steps in installing eXist-db are downloading the installer and firing it up:

• Download the installer by following the download link on the eXist-db homepage page. We recommend that you download the latest stable release.

  The installer is a single file called eXist-db-setup-[version].jar (for instance eXist-db-setup-3.6.1.jar).

• Launch the eXist-db installer:

  • On Mac and Windows, simply double-click the downloaded .jar file.

    On Mac OS X 10.7 and higher, a security feature called Gatekeeper may prevent the installer from running since eXist-db is not registered with Apple. To circumvent the warning dialog and allow the installer to run, right-click or control-click the file and select Open.

  • On Linux distributions with a graphical desktop interface (e.g., Ubuntu), you can launch the installer by making the .jar file executable, right-clicking it, and selecting the "Open With ... Java" option.

  • If necessary you can launch the installer from the command line with the following command:

    java -jar eXist-db-setup-[version].jar

• More advanced installation methods (like installing on a headless system) are described in the Advanced Installation article. If you wish to compile and run exist from source please see the article on building eXist

After the installer is launched, follow the prompts described below to complete the installation. We recommend that you accept the default options, since these are designed to make using eXist-db easy. The installer's dialog panes are as follows:

Installation Directory:

You will be asked where to install eXist-db on your hard disk. The installer will suggest an appropriate directory, but if you want, you can install eXist-db anywhere on your system.

Data Directory

The data directory is where eXist-db keeps its data files. The installer will suggest keeping the data files inside the application directory, but you can select a different location if you want.

Admin Password and Memory Settings:

The Admin Password is a password for the eXist-db administrator account, or more commonly, the "admin" account. This admin account belongs to you, and certain key functions in eXist-db can only be performed by the admin. While you can leave the admin password blank, we strongly recommend setting the password in order to secure access your installation of eXist-db. Why? Keep in mind that while eXist-db is running, it can be accessed by other users on your local network (be it in your home or office, or at a cafe or on a train). So, securing your administrator's account on eXist-db is a good way to protect your data and prevent others from abusing the account.

Configure the maximum amount of memory which will be available to Java (and eXist-db) and the portion of it which will be reserved for internal caches.

Package Installation:

• The "core" package is required to run eXist-db.

• The "sources" package is optional. Removing "sources" cuts the installation size considerably, but best to install everything unless you are starved for disk space.

• The "apps" package allows you to select or deselect a number of applications which will be installed into eXist-db when it starts the first time. If you are new to eXist-db, we recommend to at least select "dashboard", "demo", "doc", "eXide" and "fundocs". You'll need those to make your first steps in XQuery development.

After this the installer will go through a number of additional steps and screens installing files and configuring the system. Once finished you're ready to run!

Launching eXist-db

To launch eXist-db:

• On the Mac, double-click eXist-db's application icon where you installed eXist-db.

• On Linux or Windows, select the eXist-db Database Start-up desktop shortcut icon or Start Menu entry.

A splash screen appears showing the eXist-db logo. Upon first start-up, eXist-db will upload the applications you selected in the installer. This may take a while and is only done once.

Once eXist is started, a menu bar icon (Mac) or system tray icon (Linux/Windows) appears. This gives you access to eXist-db's tools and lets you shutdown or restart the database. Click on it to see a menu providing direct access to the most important tools.

Diving In

After a successful installation and launch, access eXist-db's Dashboard, the central administration and application hub of eXist-db. If the system tray icon works on your system, select Open Dashboard from the pop-up menu. Or just open a web browser and enter the following URL: http://localhost:8080/exist/

The following page appears:

Seeing it? Congratulations! (Not seeing it? See our article on Troubleshooting).

All right, ready to dive in! Your local installation includes everything you need. Access is easy, through the applications on the Dashboard (see also the article on the Dashboard).

Shutting Down the Database

Improperly shutting down the database can corrupt your data files. Follow one of the following procedures to properly shut down eXist-db:

• The system tray pop-up menu has an option Stop server. You may also choose Quit (and stop server) to shut down eXist-db and the system tray launcher at the same time.

• From the Dashboard: select the Shutdown button

• From the command line, run the bin/shutdown.sh (Linux/Mac) or shutdown.bat (DOS/Windows) shutdown scripts, using your admin account's credentials:

  bin/shutdown.sh -u admin -p youradminpassword

  bin/shutdown.bat -u admin -p youradminpassword

• From the Java Admin Client: select Connection, Shutdown from the menu.