---
title: Build from Source
sidebarTitle: Build from Source
---

<Note>Building from source is only required if you're making changes. The recommended way to self-host Sourcebot is to use the [pre-built docker image](/self-hosting/overview)</Note>

<Steps>
    <Step title="Install build requirements">
        <Note>A NodeJS version of at least 21.1.0 is required.</Note>
        1. [go](https://go.dev/doc/install)
        2. [NodeJS](https://nodejs.org/)
        3. [ctags](https://github.com/universal-ctags/ctags)
        ```bash
        // macOS:
        brew install universal-ctags

        // Linux:
        snap install universal-ctags
        ```
    </Step>
    <Step title="Clone the repository">
    ```bash
    git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot.git
    ```
    </Step>
    <Step title="Build dependencies">
    ```bash
    cd sourcebot
    make
    ```
    </Step>
    <Step title="Start Sourcebot">
    ``` bash
    yarn dev
    ```
    </Step>
    <Step title="Navigate to Sourcebot">
    Start searching at `http://localhost:3000`
    </Step>
</Steps>

Congrats, you're now running Sourcebot from source! Check out our [getting started](/docs/getting-started) page to dive in.