---
layout: default
title: Getting started
slug: getting-started
lead: "An overview of Bootstrap, how to download and use, basic templates and examples, and more."
---
Download Bootstrap
There are a few easy ways to quickly get started with Bootstrap, each one appealing to a different skill level and use case. Read through to see what suits your particular needs.
Download compiled CSS and JS
The fastest way to get started is to get the compiled and minified versions of our CSS and JavaScript. No documentation or original source files are included.
The folks over at NetDNA have graciously provided CDN support for Bootstrap's CSS and JavaScript. To use, swap your local instances for the Bootstrap CDN links listed below.
{% highlight html linenos %}
{% endhighlight %}
LESS compilation
If you download the original files, you need to compile Bootstrap's LESS files into usable CSS. To do that, Bootstrap only officially supports Recess, Twitter's CSS hinter built on top of less.js.
What's included
Within the download you'll find the following directories and files, logically grouping common assets and providing both compiled and minified variations.
Once downloaded, unzip the compressed folder to see the structure of (the compiled) Bootstrap. You'll see something like this:
This is the most basic form of Bootstrap: compiled files for quick drop-in usage in nearly any web project. We provide compiled CSS and JS (bootstrap.*), as well as compiled and minified CSS and JS (bootstrap.min.*). The image files are compressed using ImageOptim, a Mac app for compressing PNGs.
jQuery required
Please note that all JavaScript plugins require jQuery to be included, as shown in the starter template.
Templates and examples
Make use of a super basic HTML template, or dive into a few examples we've started for you. We encourage folks to iterate on these examples and not simply use them as an end result.
HTML template
Copy and paste the HTML from below to get started with a bare bones Bootstrap document.
{% highlight html %}
Bootstrap 101 Template
Hello, world!
{% endhighlight %}
Examples
Starter template
A barebones HTML page with Bootstrap's CSS and JavaScript included.
Basic grid layouts
Simple grid layouts to familiarize you with using the Bootstrap grid system.
Basic marketing site
Features a jumbotron for primary message and three supporting elements.
Narrow marketing
Slim, lightweight marketing template for small projects or teams.
Justified nav
Marketing page with equal-width navigation links in a modified navbar.
Sign in
Barebones sign in form with custom, larger form controls and a flexible layout.
Sticky footer
Pin a fixed-height footer to the bottom of the user's viewport.
Sticky footer w/ navbar
Add a fixed navbar to the default sticky footer template.
Carousel jumbotron
An interactive riff on the basic marketing site featuring a prominent carousel.
Navbar
Basic template for showcasing how the navbar works.
Static top navbar
Basic template for showcasing the static navbar variation.
Fixed top navbar
Basic template for showcasing the fixed navbar variation.
Customizing Bootstrap
Customizing Bootstrap is best accomplished when you treat it as another dependency in your development stack. Doing so ensures future upgrades are as easy as possible while also familiarizing yourself to the intricacies of the framework.
Once you've downloaded and included Bootstrap's CSS into your templates, you can move on to customizing the included components. To do so, create a new stylesheet (LESS, if you like, or just plain CSS) to house your customizations.
Compiled or minified?
Unless you plan on reading a good chunk of the compiled CSS, go with the minified. It's the same code, just compacted. Less bandwidth is good, especially in production environments.
From there, include whatever Bootstrap components and HTML content you need to get your template setup. It's best to have a rough idea in mind of modifications to make and content to include, so be sure to spend a brief amount of time on that before moving on.
Customizing components
There are varying degrees to customizing components, but most fall into two camps: light customizations and complete visual overhauls. Luckily, there are plenty of examples of both.
We define light customizations as mostly surface layer changes, things like a color and font changes to existing Bootstrap components. A great example of this is the the Twitter Translation Center (coded by @mdo). Let's look at how to implement the custom button we wrote for this site, .btn-ttc.
Instead of using the provided Bootstrap buttons, which only require just one class to start, .btn, we'll add our own modifier class, .btn-ttc. This will give us a slightly custom look with minimal effort.
{% highlight html %}
{% endhighlight %}
In the custom stylesheet, add the following CSS:
{% highlight css %}
/* Custom button
-------------------------------------------------- */
/* Override base .btn styles */
/* Apply text and background changes to three key states: default, hover, and active (click). */
.btn-ttc,
.btn-ttc:hover,
.btn-ttc:active {
color: white;
text-shadow: 0 -1px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25);
background-color: #007da7;
}
/* Apply the custom-colored gradients */
/* Note: you'll need to include all the appropriate gradients for various browsers and standards. */
.btn-ttc {
background-repeat: repeat-x;
background-image: linear-gradient(top, #009ED2 0%, #007DA7 100%);
...
}
/* Set the hover state */
/* An easy hover state is just to move the gradient up a small amount. Add other embellishments as you see fit. */
.btn-ttc:hover {
background-position: 0 -15px;
}
{% endhighlight %}
Customizing Bootstrap components takes time, but should be straightforward. Look to the source code often and duplicate the selectors you need for your modifications. Placing them after the Bootstrap source makes for easy overriding without complication. To recap, here's the basic workflow:
For each element you want to customize, find its code in the compiled Bootstrap CSS. Copy and paste the selector for a component as-is. For instance, to customize the navbar background, just snag .navbar.
Add all your custom CSS in a separate stylesheet using the selectors you just copied from the Bootstrap source. No need for prefacing with additional classes or using !important here.
Rinse and repeat until you're happy with your customizations.
Going beyond light customizations and into visual overhauls is just as straightforward as the above custom button. For a site like Karma, which uses Bootstrap as a CSS reset with heavy modifications, more extensive work is involved, but well worth it in the end.
Alternate customization methods
While not recommended for folks new to Bootstrap, you may use one of two alternate methods for customization. The first is modifying the source .less files (making upgrades super difficult), and the second is mapping source LESS code to your own classes via mixins. For the time being, neither options are documented here.
Removing potential bloat
Not all sites and applications need to make use of everything Bootstrap has to offer, especially in production environments where bandwidth literally becomes a financial issue. We encourage folks to remove whatever is unused with our Customizer.
Using the Customizer, simply uncheck any component, feature, or asset you don't need. Hit download and swap out the default Bootstrap files with these newly customized ones. You'll get vanilla Bootstrap, but without the features *you* deem unnecessary. All custom builds include compiled and minified versions, so use whichever works for you.
