twbs--bootstrap/docs/getting-started/compiling.md

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page	Compiling with Grunt

Bootstrap uses Grunt for its build system, with convenient methods for working with the framework. It's how we compile our code, run tests, and more.

Install Grunt

To install Grunt, you must first download and install node.js (which includes npm). npm stands for node packaged modules and is a way to manage development dependencies through node.js.

From the command line:

1. Install grunt-cli globally with npm install -g grunt-cli.
2. Navigate to the root /bootstrap directory, then run npm install. npm will look at package.json and automatically install the necessary local dependencies listed there.

When completed, you'll be able to run the various Grunt commands provided from the command line.

Unfamiliar with npm? Don't have node installed? That's a-okay. npm stands for node packaged modules and is a way to manage development dependencies through node.js. Download and install node.js before proceeding.

Available Grunt commands

Build - grunt

Run grunt to run tests locally and compile the CSS and JavaScript into /dist. Uses Less and UglifyJS.

Only compile CSS and JavaScript - grunt dist

grunt dist creates the /dist directory with compiled files. Uses Less and UglifyJS.

Tests - grunt test

Runs JSHint and QUnit tests headlessly in PhantomJS (used for CI).

Watch - grunt watch

This is a convenience method for watching just Less files and automatically building them whenever you save.

Troubleshooting dependencies

Should you encounter problems with installing dependencies or running Grunt commands, uninstall all previous dependency versions (global and local). Then, rerun npm install.