How to Install Monica on Windows 10

Monica is an open-source Personal Relationship Management (PRM) tool that allows you to track and manage personal interactions with friends, family, and other contacts. This tutorial will guide you through the process of installing Monica on Windows 10.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, ensure that your system meets the following requirements:

Windows 10 operating system
PHP 7.4 or higher
Composer
Node.js 14 or higher
Git

Step 1: Install PHP

To install PHP on Windows 10, follow these steps:

Download PHP from the official PHP website.
Extract the downloaded ZIP file to a directory (e.g. C:\PHP).
Add the PHP directory to your system's PATH environment variable.

Step 2: Install Composer

Composer is a dependency manager for PHP. Here's how you can install it:

Download the Composer installer.
Open Command Prompt and navigate to the directory where the installer was downloaded.

Run the following command:

php composer-setup.php --install-dir=bin --filename=composer

Step 3: Install Node.js

Node.js is required to build Monica's front-end assets. To install Node.js on Windows 10, follow these steps:

Download the Node.js installer.
Double-click the downloaded MSI file to start the installation process.
Follow the steps in the Node.js installer.

Step 4: Install Git

Git is a version control system that you will use to download Monica's source code. To install Git on Windows 10, follow these steps:

Download the Git installer.
Double-click the downloaded EXE file to start the installation process.
Follow the steps in the Git installer.

Step 5: Download Monica

Open Command Prompt.
Navigate to the directory where you want to install Monica.
Run the following command to clone the Monica repository:
```
git clone https://github.com/monicahq/monica.git
```

Step 6: Install Dependencies

Navigate to the cloned monica directory.
Run the following commands to install the required dependencies:
```
composer install
npm install
```

Step 7: Configure the .env File

Rename .env.example to .env:
```
copy .env.example .env
```
Edit the .env file with your database settings:
```
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=monica
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=
```
Replace the placeholders with your actual database settings.

Step 8: Generate the App Key

Run the following command to generate the Laravel app key:
```
php artisan key:generate
```

Step 9: Run the Database Migrations

Run the following command to run database migrations:
```
php artisan migrate --seed
```

Step 10: Build Front-end Assets

Run the following command to build the front-end assets:
```
npm run dev
```

Step 11: Start the Server

Run the following command to start the server:
```
php artisan serve
```
Open your web browser and go to http://localhost:8000.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Monica on your Windows 10 system. You can now log in with the default credentials: email admin@localhost and password secret.