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Installing on Windows
These instructions have been verified with the following versions of software. If you use these instructions and are successful with a different configuration, please update the following.
- Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Windows Server 2008 R2 (reported by John Rigdon)
- Nodejs v4.3.0 / npm 2.14.3
- River5 v0.43i, v044a
Although Windows is known primarily for having a graphical user interface, some of the following steps require typing commands directly into the Command Prompt. You may also hear this referred to as the "Terminal".
If you have never used the Command Prompt before, you can access it through the Windows Start Menu. Within the Start Menu, things vary depending on the version of Windows you are using. On Windows 10, select the "All apps" item. Then scroll down to the "Windows System" item and click it. That will display additional items, including "Command Prompt". Clicking the "Command Prompt" item will bring up a window with a command prompt. On my system, it looks like:
C:\Users\david>
"david" is my user name on this system. Yours will probably be different.
The command prompt shows you the "current directory". That's where stuff happens by default when you type in commands and execute them. Later, we will use the cd command (short for change directory) to operate in different directorys.
If you have not done so already, install Nodejs. Binary installers can be downloaded here. Choose one that is appropriate for your system, download it, and execute it.
After running the installer, you can check for correct installation at the Command Prompt like this:
C:\Users\david>node -v
v4.3.0
C:\Users\david>npm -version
2.14.3
As in Dave's original instructions, start by downloading the zip file containing River5. Just click this link to download the file river5-master.zip.
On my system, the file ends up in C:\Users\david\Downloads\river-5-master.zip. Your location will vary depending on your user name ("david" in my case) and where you have configured your browser to store things downloaded from the internet.
Now you need to extract the files contained in the zip'ed file you just downloaded. Unfortunately, there are many different ways to do this. On my system, I've purchased a license for WinZip (you can try it for free if you want.) Use the zip tool of your choice to unzip the file to the location of your choice. River5 is not particularly picky about its location, but you should be. I put mine in C:\projects.
The unzipping process creates a directory C:\projects\river5-master. You can change the name of the directory if you want. Dave's instructions suggest river. That's probably better since the software on your system will not reflect any changes Dave makes on the master branch of his repository. You can change the directory name from File Explorer or from the Command Prompt. (Note how the command prompt changes after the cd command is executed.)
C:\Users\david>cd C:\projects
C:\projects>rename river5-master river
Change to the directory with the unzipped software and run NPM to install River5. This step is needed to download additional Nodejs packages required by River5.
C:\projects>cd river5
C:\projects\river5>npm install
This will take a few moments. When completed, a list of installed packages will be displayed.
At this point, you can start the River5 software by typing:
C:\projects\river5-master>node river5.js
You should see a list of feeds and articles go whizzing by on the Command Prompt.
Open a browser and navigate to localhost:1337. It will likely tell you that nothing can be displayed just yet. It takes a bit for all those feeds to be sliced and diced into a displayable form. But you can assure yourself that the software is running by going to the very top of the page and pulling down the menu behind "Stuff". In that menu, click the very top item that says "Dashboard...". A new window will open showing various information about what the aggregator is doing, including the second item, "Server up:", which shows how long the server has been running. You should see it update every few seconds.
That's it! You're running a copy of River5 ready for you to customize with your own feeds.
Keeping River5 Running: Depending on how you use your system, you might stop River5 from running. If you
- Press
Ctrl-Cin the Terminal where River5 is running - Close the Command Prompt you used to start River5
- Log off of Windows
- Turn of your system
Resources: You might be concerned about leaving this program running continually on your desktop. Don't worry. According to Windows Task Manager, Nodejs is usually dormant, using no measurable CPU time. As it processes feeds, the CPU usage sometimes hits 0.2% on my system. It looks like it uses about 50 MB of RAM. It hasn't slowed down anything else that is running on my system to any noticeable degree.