Step-by-Step: Installing DSpace 7 on Windows 10 Setting up DSpace 7 on Windows 10 is a major leap forward for digital repository management, but it involves a complex dance of backend and frontend components. Unlike previous versions, DSpace 7 uses a modern Angular frontend that talks to a Java-based REST API backend
If you're ready to modernize your repository, here is the roadmap to get your local development or testing environment up and running. 1. Pre-Installation: System Requirements
Before starting, ensure your Windows 10 machine meets these minimum specs to avoid performance bottlenecks: Processor: 2 GHz dual-core or better. 8–12 GB RAM
is recommended for DSpace 7. While 4 GB is the absolute minimum, it often leads to memory errors during bulk uploads or heavy use. 20 GB of free disk space. 2. The Dependency Checklist
DSpace 7 relies on a specific stack. Install these in order and add their folders to your Windows System Environment Variables Java JDK 11 or 17: (Oracle or OpenJDK). Set to your JDK path. Apache Maven 3.3+: For building the backend source code. Apache Ant 1.10+: For installing the built binaries. PostgreSQL (12.x to 17.x): The database engine. You must enable the extension on your DSpace database. Apache Solr 8.x: Handles searching and indexing. Apache Tomcat 9.x: The servlet container for the backend API. Node.js & Yarn: Required for the Angular frontend. 3. Backend Installation
The backend provides the API that stores and manages your data. Database Setup: Create a PostgreSQL user and database named . Use the command CREATE EXTENSION pgcrypto; within the Download the DSpace 7 source code and locate the folder. Rename local.cfg.EXAMPLE dspace 7 installation on windows 10
and update the database credentials and installation directory (e.g., Build with Maven: mvn package from the source root to compile the code. Install with Ant: Navigate to dspace/target/dspace-installer ant fresh_install . This populates your installation directory. Deploy to Tomcat: folder from your installation's directory into Tomcat’s 4. Frontend (Angular) Installation This is the interface users will see. Install Dependencies: dspace-angular source folder, run yarn install Configuration: config.prod.yml config.dev.yml ) and point the host to your local Tomcat API (usually localhost:8080/server Build & Run: yarn build:prod to compile. On Windows, it is often best to use to manage the frontend process. Quick Tips for Success Admin Account: Don't forget to create your first user! Run dspace create-administrator directory of your installed backend. Solr Config:
Copy the Solr cores from your DSpace installation directory to the Solr server directory to enable search functionality. Easier Path: If this manual process feels daunting, consider Docker Desktop
. DSpace 7 has an official Docker setup that automates all these dependencies into containers, which is highly recommended for local testing on Windows. or setting up PM2 for the frontend 1 Minimum System requirements for DSpace installation
Here’s a step-by-step guide to installing DSpace 7 on Windows 10.
dspace.dir = C:/dspace
npm start
Wait – it compiles. Then open: http://localhost:4000
🎉 You should see the DSpace 7 login page.
Edit C:\dspace-src\dspace\config\local.cfg (create if missing):
dspace.dir = C:\\dspace dspace.name = My DSpace 7db.url = jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/dspace db.driver = org.postgresql.Driver db.username = dspace db.password = yourpassword
solr.server = http://localhost:8080/solr Step-by-Step: Installing DSpace 7 on Windows 10 Setting
rest.cors.allowed-origins = http://localhost:4000,http://localhost:4200
copy C:\dspace\webapps\solr C:\tomcat9\webapps\
cd C:\dspace\bin
dspace database migrate
Expected output: Database schema up to date.
npm install
This takes 2–3 minutes.