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Neurodesk

Running the Neurodesk Site Locally (Hugo + Docsy)

1. Prerequisites

Section titled “1. Prerequisites”

2. Cloning the repository

Section titled “2. Cloning the repository”

This step is the same for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Using SSH

Section titled “Using SSH”
Terminal window
git clone --recurse-submodules git@github.com:neurodesk/neurodesk.github.io.git

Using HTTPS

Section titled “Using HTTPS”
Terminal window
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/neurodesk/neurodesk.github.io.git

If you cloned without —recurse-submodules

Section titled “If you cloned without —recurse-submodules”

Run the following command to pull submodules:

Terminal window
git submodule update --init --recursive --remote

3. Start the local Hugo server

Section titled “3. Start the local Hugo server”

On Windows:

  1. Extract the hugo.exe binary from the ZIP file into the root of your neurodesk.github.io directory.

  2. Open PowerShell or Git Bash, then run:

    Terminal window
    .\hugo.exe server --disableFastRender

  3. Once started, your dev website will be accessible via http://localhost:1313.

On Mac:

  1. Extract, move, and authorise the Hugo binary:

    Terminal window
    cd ~/Downloads  # edit according to location of file
    tar -xvzf hugo_extended_0.115.4_darwin-universal.tar.gz # unzip the file
    chmod +x hugo # make the hugo file executable
    sudo mv hugo /usr/local/bin/hugo-extended # move file to bin folder

  2. Verify your Hugo installation:

    Terminal window
    hugo-extended version # if it is your first time running this on a Mac, you will see a security warning

    You should expect something like this (look for the mention of extended to be sure it worked):

    Terminal window
    hugo v0.146.0-5d1b9d39858bb0b2e505af9f649bfb55295ecca1+extended darwin/arm64 BuildDate=2025-04-10T14:57:56Z VendorInfo=gohugoio

Once installed, you can run the server for Mac using:

Terminal window
hugo-extended server --disableFastRender

Once started, your dev website will be accessible via http://localhost:1313.

4. Update Docsy theme submodule (optional)

Section titled “4. Update Docsy theme submodule (optional)”
Terminal window
git submodule update --remote
git add themes/
git commit -m "Updating theme submodule"
git push origin main