---
title: "Rocket Chat Dev Setup on Linux & Windows"
slug: "linux-and-windows-rocketchat-development-environment"
description: "Set up Rocket Chat development on Linux and Windows. Build, test, and extend secure communication in your developer environment."
updated: 2026-06-10T14:57:43Z
published: 2026-06-10T14:57:43Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.rocket.chat/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Linux and Windows Rocket.Chat Development Environment

Setting up a Rocket.Chat development environment allows you to contribute to the platform’s development. This document will walk you through the essential steps to get your development environment up and running efficiently on Windows and Linux.

## Prerequisites

LinuxWindows

- At least 12GB RAM is required for building in a development environment. For deployment and other uses, 2GB RAM suffices
- Use a standard user account (not root) for setup. Avoid using sudo to prevent potential file permission issues

> The sample Linux distribution for this guide is Ubuntu. However, the steps are similar for other Linux distributions.

**Software requirements**

- Windows 10, version 2004 or above
- Install and configure WSL 2 following the [Microsoft documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10). The default Linux distribution to be installed is Ubuntu.
- Download and install the latest [Linux kernel updates](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/wsl2-kernel)
- Install [nvm](https://github.com/creationix/nvm) to manage your Node.js version

**Machine requirements**

To set up Rocket.Chat development environment, you'll require a Windows machine that meets the following minimum specifications:

- 12 GB of RAM (16+ GB highly recommended)
- Four or more cores on CPU (at least 3 GHz boosted, 4.2 GHz or higher recommended)
- 80 GB of available fast SSD storage (PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD recommended)

> All the steps for the Windows development environment **must** be performed within the Ubuntu WSL 2 shell.

1. Open Ubuntu shell on your Windows or Linux environment and update the distro by running this command:

```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade -y
```
2. Install the required build tools:

```bash
sudo apt install git curl unzip make build-essential python3 g++
```
3. Fork the [Rocket.Chat repository](https://github.com/RocketChat/Rocket.Chat) on GitHub.
4. From your home directory (~), clone the forked repository:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/Rocket.Chat.git
```

> [!WARNING]
> All steps below must be executed from the Rocket.Chat root folder. Navigate to root folder:
> 
> ```bash
> cd Rocket.Chat
> ```

## Step 1: Setting up Node.js and Yarn

1. Navigate to the Rocket.Chat root folder and confirm the [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en) version required by your RocketChat project:

```bash
cd Rocket.Chat
cat package.json | grep -A4 engines | grep node
```
2. Install that Node.js version with [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm), replacing `x.x.x` with the version from the previous step:

```bash
nvm install x.x.x
```
3. Verify the installed version:

```bash
node -v
```
4. Install Yarn:

```bash
npm install -g yarn
```

After installation, you can verify Yarn's version with:

```bash
yarn --version
```

## Step 2: Setting up Deno

1. Confirm the [Deno](https://docs.deno.com) version required by your RocketChat project:

```bash
cat .tool-versions | grep deno
```
2. Install the required Deno version, replacing `x.x.x` with the version from the previous step:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://deno.land/install.sh | sh -s vx.x.x
```

For example:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://deno.land/install.sh | sh -s v1.37.1
```

> For alternative installation methods, check the official Deno [installation documentation](https://docs.deno.com/runtime/fundamentals/installation/).
3. Reload the shell so the updated PATH is available.
4. Confirm you have the correct version installed by running:

```bash
deno --version
```

## Step 3: Installing Meteor

Rocket.Chat pins its Meteor version in the [.meteor/release](https://github.com/RocketChat/Rocket.Chat/blob/develop/apps/meteor/.meteor/release) file.

1. Navigate to the Rocket.Chat directory and confirm the [Meteor](https://www.meteor.com/) version required by your Rocket.Chat project:

```bash
cd Rocket.Chat
cat apps/meteor/.meteor/release
```
2. Install Meteor, replacing `x.x.x` with the version from the previous step:

```bash
curl https://install.meteor.com/\?release\=x.x | sh
```
3. After installation, verify the version:

```bash
meteor --version
```

You should see the installed version displayed in your terminal.

## Step 4: Run the Rocket.Chat project

The commands in this step must be run from the Rocket.Chat root folder. Otherwise, MongoDB will not start.

1. Install all the dependencies:

```bash
yarn
```
2. When completed, build and run the server by executing this command:

```bash
yarn dsv
```

> [!NOTE]
> The first build can take ten or more minutes. Subsequent dev builds will take lesser time.

> [!WARNING]
> During the build, you may notice warnings about *peer* or *transitive* dependencies. These are typically safe to ignore unless you are developing the specific features or modules that require them

A successful running server will open up port `3000` on your machine where you can access Rocket.Chat using any browser or the Rocket.Chat client app through `http://localhost:3000`.

## Step 5: Edit Rocket.Chat files

The recommended IDE is [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/download).

To edit Rocket.Chat files,

- Launch your IDE and open the cloned repository folder in your IDE
- When you make changes to Rocket.Chat the server will automatically rebuild
- Sometimes, changes can shut down the server. If that happens, run `yarn dsv` again

## **References**

If you encounter any issues during the setup, refer to the [development](/docs/troubleshooting)[environment troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting) guide for assistance.

Now that your development server is running, you can contribute to the Rocket.Chat server! See [participate in Rocket.Chat development](/v1/docs/participate-in-rocketchat-development) to learn more about Rocket.Chat contributions.