---
title: Getting started
description: Get started building your own plugins, or contributing directly to the Kibana repo. We do not support Windows native development anymore and in order...
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/extend/kibana/development-getting-started
products:
  - Kibana
---

# Getting started
Get started building your own plugins, or contributing directly to the Kibana repo.

## Developing on Windows

We do not support Windows native development anymore and in order to develop Kibana on Windows please [setup a WSL environment](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/setup/environment) which will give you a much better experience. In addition to that you will also benefit from [run GUI apps on WSL](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/tutorials/gui-apps) like Chrome for test and debug purposes. Once completed, follow the rest of this guide inside the WSL.

## Get the code

[Fork](https://help.github.com/en/github/getting-started-with-github/fork-a-repo), then [clone](https://help.github.com/en/github/getting-started-with-github/fork-a-repo#step-2-create-a-local-clone-of-your-fork) the [Kibana repo](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/) and change directory into it:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/[YOUR_USERNAME]/kibana.git kibana
cd kibana
```


## Install dependencies

Install the version of Node.js listed in the `.node-version` file. This can be automated with tools such as [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm) or [avn](https://github.com/wbyoung/avn). As we also include a `.nvmrc` file you can switch to the correct version when using nvm by running:
```bash
nvm use
```

Install the latest version of [yarn v1](https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/install).
Bootstrap Kibana and install all the dependencies:
```bash
yarn kbn bootstrap
```

In case you don’t have an internet connection, the `yarn kbn bootstrap` command will fail. As it is likely you have the required node_modules in the offline mirror, you can try to run the step in offline mode by using:
```bash
yarn kbn bootstrap --offline
```

In any other circumstance where you want to force the node_modules install step you can use:
```bash
yarn kbn bootstrap --force-install
```

You can also run `yarn kbn` to see the other available commands.
When switching branches which use different versions of npm packages you may need to run:
```bash
yarn kbn clean
```

<note>
  Running this command is only necessary in rare circumstance where you need to recover a consistent state when problems arise. If you need to run this command often, complete this form to provide feedback: [[https://ela.st/yarn-kbn-clean](https://ela.st/yarn-kbn-clean)](https://ela.st/yarn-kbn-clean)
</note>

If you have failures during `yarn kbn bootstrap` you may have some corrupted packages in your yarn cache which you can clean with:
```bash
yarn cache clean
```


## Configure environmental settings


### Increase node.js heap size

Kibana is a big project and for some commands it can happen that the process hits the default heap limit and crashes with an out-of-memory error. If you run into this problem, you can increase maximum heap size by setting the `--max_old_space_size` option on the command line. To set the limit for all commands, simply add the following line to your shell config: `export NODE_OPTIONS="--max_old_space_size=2048"`.

## Run Elasticsearch

Run the latest Elasticsearch snapshot. Specify an optional license with the `--license` flag.
```bash
yarn es snapshot --license trial
```

`trial` will give you access to all capabilities.
Read about more options for [Running Elasticsearch during development](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/extend/kibana/running-elasticsearch), like connecting to a remote host, running from source, preserving data inbetween runs, running remote cluster, etc.

## Run Kibana

In another terminal window, start up Kibana. Include [developer examples](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/tree/master/examples) by adding an optional `--run-examples` flag.
```bash
yarn start --run-examples
```

View all available options by running `yarn start --help`
Read about more advanced options for [Running Kibana](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/extend/kibana/running-kibana-advanced).

## Install pre-commit hook (optional)

In case you want to run a couple of checks like linting or check the file casing of the files to commit, we provide a way to install a pre-commit hook. To configure it you just need to run the following:
```bash
node scripts/register_git_hook
```

After the script completes the pre-commit hook will be created within the file `.git/hooks/pre-commit`. If you choose to not install it, don’t worry, we still run a quick ci check to provide feedback earliest as we can about the same checks.

## Code away!

You are now ready to start developing. Changes to your files should be picked up automatically. Server side changes will cause the Kibana server to reboot.

## More information

- [Running Kibana](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/extend/kibana/running-kibana-advanced)
- [Installing sample data](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/extend/kibana/sample-data)
- [Debugging Kibana](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/extend/kibana/kibana-debugging)
- [Building a Kibana distributable](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/extend/kibana/building-kibana)
- [Plugin Resources](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/extend/kibana/development-plugin-resources)