# Install

Private alpha: you need repository access, Node.js **22.13+**, and Google Chrome.

## Build the alpha packages

```sh
gh repo clone portlayer/browserlayer
cd browserlayer
npm ci
npm run install:local
export BROWSERLAYER_SOURCE="$PWD"
export PATH="$BROWSERLAYER_SOURCE/.local/installation/node_modules/.bin:$PATH"
browserlayer --help
```

Keep the two exports in your shell configuration. Use the release your team has checked out; the alpha packages are installed from that checkout.

## Create a project

```sh
cd ..
browserlayer init my-integrations --name example --skip-install
cd my-integrations
npm install "$BROWSERLAYER_SOURCE"/.local/packages/*.tgz
npx playwright install chromium
browserlayer start
```

`--skip-install` lets you install the alpha package archives instead of fetching packages from npm.

Studio opens locally. To build for your own website, choose **Captures → New capture**.
Your project includes `AGENTS.md`, which directs your coding agent to the installed
authoring guide and SDK examples. Give it the website and the endpoints or syncs
your app needs; it can inspect the capture directly.

| Tool                | Used for                                                           |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Google Chrome       | Live runs and website capture                                      |
| Playwright Chromium | Offline integration tests                                          |
| SQLite              | Local connections, runs and sync data; no database server required |

**Next:** [Capture your website](/docs/capture), or [try the starter endpoint](/docs/quickstart).