K Cartlidge

C#/DotNet. Go. Node. Python/Flask. Elixir.

Getting Elixir/Phoenix running under Windows

This is a basic set of notes on getting a Windows 10 machine set up for development with Elixir and Phoenix.

Getting started

This is largely based on the Phoenix installation details, expanded with extra info for Node and Postgres.

Install the ecosystem

All the installations should be attempted without using Administrator mode first both for security and isolation reasons.

Optionally install client-side build ecosystem

Note: Phoenix 1.6 or later removes the need for Node and npm (unless you want to continue using webpack). These instructions retain Node configuration as most beginners use books like Programming Phoenix 1.4, or tutorials, or have existing codebases to work on, so they are expected to be using earlier versions.

If you create Phoenix apps with the --no-webpack option or are using v1.6+ then Node isn't required. Otherwise you should use nvm to install Node version 5 or later. Whilst you can install Node directly, using nvm allows you to maintain multiple isolated Node versions and easily/safely switch between them.

Install supporting tooling

Create and launch a sample application

As mentioned above in the Node installation section, due to the prevalence of beginner's material and existing projects being Phoenix < v1.6 these instructions assume the continued use of WebPack and Node and were written targetting Phoenix v1.5.12.