> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gocopper.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Installation

Copper ships with a CLI that scaffolds projects, generates code, runs database migrations, and rebuilds your application as you work.

### Installing the Copper CLI

Before creating your first Copper application, make sure your local machine has Go 1.24 or newer installed. You may then install the CLI via `go install`:

```
go install github.com/gocopper/cli/cmd/copper@latest
```

You can verify the installation by running the `copper` command:

```
copper -h
```

### Troubleshooting

If your shell can't find `copper`, your Go bin directory is not on your `PATH`. You may add it to your shell profile (`~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`):

```bash theme={null}
export PATH="$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin"
```

After restarting your shell, `copper -h` should work as expected.

### Database

New projects use Postgres, the P in the GRIP stack, so you should have a server running locally before creating one. If you have Docker installed, a single command starts a database that matches the scaffolded development config out of the box:

```bash theme={null}
docker run -d --name copper-db -p 5432:5432 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=dev postgres:16
```

If you would prefer zero setup, you may pass `-storage sqlite3` to `copper create`, or `-storage none` if you don't need a database at all.