Run the GAX Pro Project from the Terminal

Before You Run

Make sure you have completed these steps:

• Install Go — version 1.21 or newer
• Download GAX Pro — extracted to a folder

Open a terminal and go into the project folder:

cd path/to/gaxpro

On Windows, the path looks like:

cd C:\Users\YourName\Projects\gaxpro

You should see go.mod, content/, and templates/ in this folder.

Build the GAX Binary

GAX Pro includes the Go source for the build command in cmd/gax/. Build it once:

go build -o gax ./cmd/gax

On Windows, this creates gax.exe. On macOS and Linux, it creates gax.

You only need to build the binary once. After that, you run the binary directly.

Run in Development Mode

Development mode starts a local server with live reload. Every time you save a file, the browser refreshes.

./gax

Or explicitly:

./gax start

On Windows:

gax.exe

The server starts at http://localhost:8080 by default. Open that URL in your browser. You should see the GAX Pro homepage.

To stop the server, press Ctrl + C in the terminal.

Build for Production

When you are ready to deploy, run a production build:

./gax build

This generates the final static site into the site/ folder. Upload that folder to any static host.

What Happens During a Build

When you run gax build, the engine:

1. Reads _data/config.yaml for site settings

2. Reads all Markdown files in content/

3. Applies templates from templates/

4. Generates collections (blog, services, projects, docs)

5. Writes sitemap.xml, rss.xml, and robots.txt

6. Outputs everything to site/

The whole process runs in one Go binary. No Node.js, no npm, no external build step.

Common Commands

Command	What It Does
./gax or ./gax start	Start development server with live reload
./gax build	Build the site to site/
./gax --help	Show available commands

On Windows, replace ./gax with gax.exe.

Common Errors

go: command not found — Go is not installed or not in your PATH. See Installation.

gax: command not found — the binary was not built. Run go build -o gax ./cmd/gax first.

permission denied on macOS or Linux — make the binary executable:

chmod +x gax

Port 8080 already in use — another process is using the port. Close the other process or change the port in the GAX configuration.

Build fails with missing template — a layout file referenced in frontmatter does not exist in templates/layouts/. Check the layout: field in the Markdown file.

Next Step

The project runs locally. You have two paths from here:

Edit content in a browser — set up Decap CMS, see Run with Decap CMS.

Edit files directly — continue to Configuration to set up the site.

Need Help?

• Contact us — if the build fails and the errors above do not resolve it
• Read the FAQ — common questions on the main docs page