Installation

Accelerate Your Development Journey

System Requirements

Essential Foundation

Node.js v20+ (LTS Recommended)
macOS (ARM64/x64), Windows (or WSL), or any Linux distribution

Automated Project Scaffolding

Optimal Setup Path

Execute our intelligent CLI to create production-ready infrastructure:

Terminal

npx create-lithia-app@latest

Customization Options

Project naming conventions
Template selection (REST API, Microservices, Full-stack)
Package manager preference (npm/yarn/pnpm)
Git repository initialization

Advanced Manual Configuration

Framework Core Installation

For experimental integrations:

Terminal

npm install --save lithia@latest

Essential Workflow Scripts

Configure your package.json with Next-Gen operations:

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "lithia dev",
    "start": "lithia start",
    "build": "lithia build",
    "postinstall": "lithia prepare"
  }
}

Intelligent Routing Setup

File-System Convention

Create your API endpoints through intuitive directory structure:

my-lithia-app

routes/
├── index.ts # /
└── users/
    ├── [id].ts # /users/:id
    └── index.ts # /users

Endpoint Implementation

Develop type-safe handlers with native TS support:

routes/index.ts

import { LithiaRequest, LithiaResponse } from 'lithia/core';

export default async function handler(req: LithiaRequest, res: LithiaResponse) {
  res
    .metadata({
      rateLimit: '1000r/h',
      cacheControl: 'public, max-age=3600',
    })
    .json({
      status: 'operational',
      version: process.env.APP_VERSION,
    });
}

TypeScript Optimization

Performance-Oriented Configuration

Install our recommended toolchain:

Terminal

npm install --save-dev typescript@latest

Advanced TS Configuration

tsconfig.json

{
  "extends": ".lithia/tsconfig.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "strictNullChecks": true,
    "incremental": true
  }
}

Development Workflow

Instant Server Activation

Launch development environment:

Terminal

npm run dev

Access real-time endpoints:

Brave Browser

http://localhost:3000/__lithia/health-check

Implement hot-reload changes

Production Optimization

Build artifact generation:

Terminal

npm run build

Run optimized server:

Terminal

node .lithia/server.js

Custom Configuration (Optional)

Framework Tuning

Learn more about advanced settings at lithia.config.js:

lithia.config.js

import { defineLithiaConfig } from 'lithia/core';

export default defineLithiaConfig({
  telemetry: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development',
  compression: { algorithm: 'brotli' },
  security: {
    cors: { origin: ['https://yourdomain.com'] },
    rateLimiting: { strategy: 'redis' },
  },
});