From zip to shipped

Start in 5 minutes

You need Node 22.18 or newer and pnpm (npm i -g pnpm). Then, inside the unzipped folder:

pnpm install
pnpm dev            # http://localhost:4321
pnpm build          # production build in dist/
pnpm preview        # serve the production build locally
pnpm check          # type-check everything
pnpm test           # the theme's checks
pnpm verify         # render bench on the build (390, 768 and 1440 px)
pnpm lint:house     # house code rules
pnpm dev:moteur     # the site with its back office, locally
pnpm build:moteur   # the build of the site with its back office

With the engine off, your copy lives in plain files: site identity in src/config/siteData.json.ts, navigation in navData.json.ts, the rest next to them or in src/data/ depending on the theme (Reef and Aloha posts, Kai products, Koa projects). With the engine on, everything visitors see lives in the database and is changed from the back office, without touching a file. pnpm dev:moteur opens it locally, at http://localhost:4321/_emdash/admin.

Two ways to run your site

Every theme builds two ways, and one variable chooses: ALOHA_MOTEUR. The design, the addresses and the SEO are the same in both: you switch from one to the other without rewriting a page.

EmDash is an open source content management system (MIT licence), made for Astro and Cloudflare. The themes do not rewrite it: they plug into it, dress it in the theme's colours and fonts, ship it in French and English, and add what EmDash does not do on its own: the edit bar on every block, the site's emails, Kai's shop, the "Mettre le site à jour" button.

With the engine on, you need a Cloudflare account with Workers, D1 (the database) and R2 (the media); Cloudflare Images is recommended to lighten photos, and the site's emails go through Cloudflare Email Sending, which requires the Workers Paid plan. The cost depends on your account and on Cloudflare's pricing.

Where everything lives

src/
  config/       your content: identity, nav, and depending on the theme pricing, FAQ, legal
  data/         the file seed, depending on the theme: posts, products, projects
  components/
    Sections/   the page blocks you rearrange
    ui/         the interface primitives (buttons, dialogs...)
  pages/        one file per route
  styles/       tokens.css = the whole design system
  moteur/       the EmDash back office: settings, menus, edit bar
docs/           administer.md, the back office guide for your client; moteur.md, putting it online
migrations/     one SQL file per release, to update an online database
scripts/        rebrand.mjs, og.mjs, moteur-import.mjs, base-3.4.0.mjs, deployer-frontal.sh
seed/           the back office seed: collections, menus, content
wiki/           the theme's technical documentation
socle.lock.json the list of files shared by the seven themes

Rebrand in one command

Give the theme your brand color and the entire palette regenerates: components, dark mode, even the generated social images follow. With the engine on, your client also picks the brand colour in the back office, among five colours, with no command.

pnpm rebrand "#7a59ff"          # your accent color
pnpm rebrand "#7a59ff" --dark "#140a2e"
pnpm rebrand --restore           # back to the original Aloha palette
pnpm og                          # regenerate the OG images to match
pnpm favicon                     # regenerate the favicons to match

Deploy the static site for free

With the engine off, the build is plain static files, so the free tier of any modern host carries it. Cloudflare: create a project, point it at your repo, build command pnpm build, output dist. Netlify and Vercel: same two values. Set site in astro.config.mjs to your real domain so canonical URLs, the sitemap and OG links are right. The site with its back office goes online on Cloudflare: that is the next section.

Put the back office online

Once, from the theme folder, with your Cloudflare account. Replace site.example.com with your domain: the database and the media storage are created on the first deploy.

# 1. Install, then sign in to Cloudflare
pnpm install
pnpm wrangler login

# 2. Build the site with its back office, then deploy it
pnpm build:moteur
pnpm wrangler deploy

# 3. Put it on your domain. First, copy the database id
#    (pnpm wrangler d1 list) into wrangler.frontal.jsonc
DOMAINE=site.example.com bash scripts/deployer-frontal.sh --a-sec   # dry run
DOMAINE=site.example.com bash scripts/deployer-frontal.sh

# 4. Open https://site.example.com/_emdash/admin and create the first
#    administrator (a passkey, no password), leaving the
#    "Include sample content" box ticked

# 5. Create an API token in the back office (content:write and
#    schema:write), then pour the theme's content in, once
EMDASH_TOKEN=... node scripts/moteur-import.mjs --url https://site.example.com

# 6. Check: the version and the build time actually online
curl -s https://site.example.com/version.json

Later deploys use the same command, DOMAINE=site.example.com bash scripts/deployer-frontal.sh, after pnpm build:moteur: it stops at the first step that fails, and the previous version stays online. Without Cloudflare Images on the account, build with ALOHA_IMAGES=origine pnpm build:moteur and remove the "images" line from wrangler.moteur.jsonc. From then on, content published from the back office is live without rebuilding the site. The full step by step, with the theme's own names and the wiring of the "Mettre le site à jour" button, is in its docs/moteur.md.

Would you rather have us put it online for you? The turnkey installation is ordered on alohapixel.com.

Connect selling

Three themes sell, each in its own way.

# Kai: the two Stripe secrets, once
pnpm wrangler secret put STRIPE_SECRET_KEY --config wrangler.moteur.jsonc
pnpm wrangler secret put STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET --config wrangler.moteur.jsonc
# the webhook address to declare at Stripe:
#   https://site.example.com/_commerce/stripe/webhook

# Kona and Nalu: check the store before building
pnpm shopify:check
pnpm woo:check

The theme drives these services, it does not replace them: opening the account, the fees, the payout and refund delays remain those of Stripe, Shopify or WooCommerce.

Manage your site

With the engine on, everything visitors see is changed from the EmDash back office, without touching a file: texts, photos, videos, buttons and their links, blocks to hide, menus, footer, logo, brand colour, new pages, SEO, redirections. The "Edit" bar changes the page in front of you. Depending on the theme, add the Reef, Aloha and Swell newsletter (sign-up confirmed by email, unsubscribing through a confirmation page), post tags, an author or a category picked by name, and, for Kai, the whole shop: products, stock per option, orders, refunds and invoices, through your own Stripe account. The cookie banner asks again after 182 days. Every theme ships the step by step guide for your client: docs/administer.md (and docs/administrer.md in French).

All about the back office: edit bar, emails, Stripe orders, updating a live site

Run the site with Claude

With the engine on, every theme carries EmDash's MCP server: Claude, or any compatible assistant, reads and edits the site's content, publishes it, manages media and menus, with the rights of the token you give it.

Server address : https://site.example.com/_emdash/api/mcp
Header         : Authorization: Bearer <your token>

Create the token in the back office, with only the permissions the assistant needs. In Claude, add a custom connector: a name (the site's domain), the address above and the Authorization header. You then write "change the home page title" or "translate the FAQ into French and publish it", and the assistant does it in the back office, as a draft or published, as you ask.

The token is a secret: it is never pasted into a document or a conversation.

Ship it as a native app

The seven themes ship a Capacitor configuration (capacitor.config.ts) and the pnpm app command, which builds the static site for the app. The app only carries that static site: no back office, no Kai Stripe checkout (it lives on the server), and the Shopify or WooCommerce checkout of Kona and Nalu opens outside the app. The Aloha video scene uses remote media: bundle your own files for offline use. Native builds, signing and publication remain your responsibility.

pnpm app
pnpm add @capacitor/core @capacitor/ios @capacitor/android
pnpm add -D @capacitor/cli
# Customize capacitor.config.ts before continuing
npx cap add ios && npx cap open ios
npx cap add android && npx cap open android

After each content change: pnpm app && npx cap sync.

Work with an AI agent

Open the folder in any coding agent that reads AGENTS.md, the repo's operating manual. It points at the theme's conventions (Astro, Tailwind, TypeScript, motion, SEO), its design doctrine and its technical documentation. Ask for a new section and the agent builds it inside the design system instead of inventing its own.

If something gets stuck

Updates and support

Every release up to the next major version is included with your licence: you get an email with a fresh download link, and the changelog tells you what changed in plain language. Support is by email, contact@alohapixel.com, answered by the person who wrote the code.