<![CDATA[Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10]]>Install MagicMirror on a PC Windows 7/10 - Complete walkthrough

I just finished a fresh install of Windows 7 on a Compaq Presario CQ57 laptop with 3.5GB of RAM and 32-bit OS.
Worthless really, but it runs Magic Mirror like a champ, as it is far more robust than a Pi of any kind.
No graphics problems. No system load issues. Even this old laptop makes a decent MM dev machine.
Ok, lets get to it!

First things first

  • Go to https://nodejs.org/en/download/ and download the Windows Installer. In this case it’s the
    node-v6.11.0-x86.msi file because I’m running 32-bit Windows 7. Double Click the installer and
    let it do its thing. You don’t have to change anything. The default installation is what you want.
    You may have noticed that npm was also installed. Isn’t that nice? :-)

  • Now go to https://git-for-windows.github.io/ and download git for Windows. Double Click the
    installer. Again, you can use the defaults but if you want to use TrueType fonts in your terminal
    windows then choose that in the Components section of the installer. Also, you can choose to use
    Git only from the Git Bash terminal. The default allows you to use Git commands from the Windows Command
    prompt. Other than that, this walkthrough assumes the defaults for Git installation.

Lets get the MagicMirror software

Now you wait patiently as it installs.

You’re so close you can taste it!

Remember we installed Git? Click Start/All Programs/Git/Git Bash. This opens your Git Bash terminal
window.

  • Type cd MagicMirror and press the Enter key. Now you’re in the ~/MagicMirror directory.

  • Type npm install and press the Enter key. This will install the dependencies for MagicMirror.
    It will take some time to complete depending on your PC. Mine took 6 minutes.
    You may see npm WARN for a few items but these are NOT errors and don’t affect anything.
    When that’s done, we continue, still in the ~/MagicMirror directory.

  • Type npm start and press the Enter key. You WILL get a “Please create a config file.” message
    I just wanted you to see it. No worries. We’re almost done. Follow me!

  • Press the Alt key on your keyboard. This drops down a menu bar at the top of your screen.
    You won’t see your mouse cursor until you move it all the way to the top of the screen into the
    menu bar. There it is! Click on the File menu and click Exit. This brings you back to your
    desktop. If there is a “Windows Security Alert” window concerning “Electron” click the Allow access button.
    You’ll notice “fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git” in your teminal window.
    Not to worry. Minimize your terminal window or move it out of the way.

Here we create your working config.js file.

We’re not going to use the terminal to do this. This way is just easier, especially for beginners.
From your desktop, navigate to your MagicMirror folder. Remember where it is? :-)

  • Double click the MagicMirror folder.
  • Double click the config folder.
  • Right click the config.js.sample file.
  • Choose Copy
  • Right click somewhere else in that same window and choose Paste.
  • Rename the “COPY” you just pasted to config.js
    Windows may ask about changing the file type. Accept! It’s now a JScript Script File.
    The config.js file that you just created is your working config file.
    This is where you’ll add your entries for other modules to your mirror.

Had enough? Lets run that MagicMirror, NOW!

If your Git Bash terminal window is still open (I never told you to close it) we can continue.
If you need to open a new one then do so now and type cd MagicMirror to enter the MagicMirror directory.
Now that you’re in the ~/MagicMirror directory of your terminal:

  • Type npm start and press the Enter key.

Your Clock, Calendar, Compliments and Newsfeed modules are now operational!

You’re welcome!

Why did I bother?

Well, for a number of reasons. When I discovered MagicMirror (January 2017) I knew less than you.
I am completely serious. I had to learn all of this from scratch. Fortunately for me, there were some
very generous and kind users on this forum that helped me. One in particular continues to help and
tutor me to this day. I will call him, “Broffessor” for the sake of this walkthrough. I approached
him for help on my very first module and he was more than willing. Now, I have 10 modules under
my belt (7 published, 2 about to be released and 1 that will NEVER be released) and a good friend
to go along with them. This walkthrough is a way for me to say thank you to those people that helped
me, by helping others. I hope I have done so.

How it all began

My son mentioned the Raspberry Pi in passing one day. Now I’m doing some simple coding and creating
modules for MagicMirror.

Who woulda thought?

Edit! Windows 10 users!

I have not tested this but I’ve been assured that MM will indeed work on Windows 10, following the instructions above. You must absolutely use the Git Bash terminal window because the Windows CMD window does not recognize bash or sh. However, Git Bash creates a linux-like environment in which MM runs very well. :-)

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/4089/complete-walkthrough-install-magicmirror-on-a-pc-windows-7-10RSS for NodeThu, 14 May 2026 01:06:20 GMTSun, 18 Jun 2017 18:14:55 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Sat, 01 Jul 2023 11:07:21 GMT]]>@1a2a3a yes this is probably an older browser which doesn’t support the newer JavaScript language features we are using.

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/110005https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/110005Sat, 01 Jul 2023 11:07:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Sat, 01 Jul 2023 06:52:04 GMT]]>just to give an update to my earlier post.
i manage to get the browser to show mm on my phone but not my ipad. could this be an issue of old safari browser or something along those line?

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/110004https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/110004Sat, 01 Jul 2023 06:52:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Sat, 01 Jul 2023 05:36:19 GMT]]>i set mirror config ip to pc ip address, ipwhitelist []…
pc webbrowser via ip address and electron works. but using ipad via ipaddress of pc, it shows black screen. terminal show fetching module. so it seems like its working but black screen…?

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/110003https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/110003Sat, 01 Jul 2023 05:36:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Fri, 30 Jun 2023 23:13:01 GMT]]>@1a2a3a cast ? Google search is your friend

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/110000https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/110000Fri, 30 Jun 2023 23:13:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Fri, 30 Jun 2023 23:12:22 GMT]]>@1a2a3a all kinds of ways to use ssh

the command is ssh. user-name-at-other-system@other-system-nane-or-ip-address

example

ssh pi@rasberrypi

using the default user name and machine names

there are other tools that make sone of this better

winscp or bitvise ssh client

both provide the ssh terminal window for commands AND a file manager window for accessing files on the other machine… double click to edit like normal

I use notepad++ as my windows text editor

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109999https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109999Fri, 30 Jun 2023 23:12:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Thu, 29 Jun 2023 15:50:01 GMT]]>Sorry guys it’s getting too technical for my limited understanding.

I don’t have a pi yet. I’m on a pc with the git cmd, how do I “cast” to the tv/monitor?

When I subsequently get a pi, how do I uh ssh from pc to pi?

Is there like a 101 guide to both above?

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109974https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109974Thu, 29 Jun 2023 15:50:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Thu, 29 Jun 2023 12:52:37 GMT]]>@bhepler yes, you need to change the config.js address: setting to something other than localhost

localhost means only applications inside the same machine can connect.

you can specify the local machine address, as long as it doesn’t change.
or use “0.0.0.0”, which means any address on any adapter.

a server application has to specify what network address it will listen on for incoming requests.

“0.0.0.0”. is a shortcut that means any address on any active network interface…(your mm could be on wifi and Ethernet at the same time )

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109972https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109972Thu, 29 Jun 2023 12:52:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Thu, 29 Jun 2023 01:27:45 GMT]]>@1a2a3a said in Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10:

  1. so I can use my tv, go into the browser and enter local host:8080 and I’m in? Assuming they are on the same network. Otherwise what would the web link be?

Localhost won’t work on your TV because localhost in that case is the TV’s local host (server). You’ll want to use the IP address of your Raspberry Pi. Likely http://192.168.1.xxx:8080 where xxx is the final numbers for your Pi.

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109970https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109970Thu, 29 Jun 2023 01:27:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 28 Jun 2023 20:33:22 GMT]]>@1a2a3a

  1. maybe. we are using more and more of the latest JavaScript level es6. most tvs don’t provide that and are not updateable, so the code will fail.

problem seen recently on Samsung frame tv.

  1. you can connect remotely to the pi ( and windows) w ssh (which i use for all mm work on my pis all over the house)

you can also use a graphical remote connection, vnc.
there is a xrdp server for Linux too for window rdp connection.

I use that on one of my Linux machines w no keyboard or display

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109964https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109964Wed, 28 Jun 2023 20:33:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 28 Jun 2023 20:06:06 GMT]]>@sdetweil thanks so much bruh. Couple of more questions if you don’t mind…

  1. so I can use my tv, go into the browser and enter local host:8080 and I’m in? Assuming they are on the same network. Otherwise what would the web link be? I don’t suppose being on a different network works?

  2. in future when I setup the pi, I’ll have to install everything on the sd card and put into the pi. And the pi is behind the wall display… so assuming 1 fine day I would like to make changes, how do I go about doing it since I can’t use the terminal on my pc to make the changes?
    Do I have to take the pi out from the wall display, connect the pi to another monitor and do my edits in the other monitor? Or does the pi on the wall display allow me to do edits? How do people go about doing this, I just can’t wrap my head around this…

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109963https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109963Wed, 28 Jun 2023 20:06:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Fri, 30 Jun 2023 23:19:26 GMT]]>@1a2a3a said in Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10:

there is something i dont get though… The MM app itself is ‘electron’?

yes… mm uses a browser to display
electron, chrome, edge, firefox, Midori,…

and my git cmd is ‘terminal’?

when i want to install module etc, i have to close the terminal and reopen and npm start again? is there a way to work continuously on the terminal without closing and opening?

no, mm only loads modules on start. u can install all you want at once, but you have to restart to load them

yes, just stop MagicMirror, ctrl-c to stop the app and back to command line… work and npm start again

right now im working on windows and subsequently i will shift to raspberry Pi, how do i transit everything over to the PI? or do i have to resetup everything?

yes

install loads different binaries for mm. and for some modules.

I have scripts for Linux to Linux, but not for windows.

and if im working on the windows, can i ‘cast’ the MM to anywhere else other than a web browser?

if you can cast a application… been years since I used windows.

but you can open a browser from anywhere to mm

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109962https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109962Fri, 30 Jun 2023 23:19:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 28 Jun 2023 16:22:13 GMT]]>@sdetweil so i used your fix with the link that you provided and i can go into MM.

there is something i dont get though… The MM app itself is ‘electron’?

and my git cmd is ‘terminal’?

when i want to install module etc, i have to close the terminal and reopen and npm start again? is there a way to work continuously on the terminal without closing and opening?

right now im working on windows and subsequently i will shift to raspberry PI. how do i transit everything over to the PI? or do i have to resetup everything?

and if im working on the windows, can i ‘cast’ the MM to anywhere else other than a web browser?

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109961https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109961Wed, 28 Jun 2023 16:22:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:23:15 GMT]]>@1a2a3a yes, just the initial electron browser startup was broken

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109959https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109959Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:23:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 28 Jun 2023 11:38:57 GMT]]>@sdetweil but when i go to localhost 8080 via web browser it appears to show the screen. is that normal?

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109958https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109958Wed, 28 Jun 2023 11:38:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 28 Jun 2023 11:36:53 GMT]]>@1a2a3a there is a big in the release on windows

https://github.com/MichMich/MagicMirror/issues/3083

you can follow the instructions to checkout the develop branch, or wait til July 1 for the next release with the fix

https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/14327/testing-new-fixes-or-solving-current-problems-with-next-release-code

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109955https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109955Wed, 28 Jun 2023 11:36:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 28 Jun 2023 05:37:44 GMT]]>@sdetweil

hi i need some help here. when i ran npm start, im getting this message.

Starting MagicMirror: v2.23.0
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.647] [LOG] Loading config …
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.648] [DEBUG] config template file not exists, no envsubst
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.650] [LOG] Loading module helpers …
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.650] [LOG] No helper found for module: alert.
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.655] [LOG] Initializing new module helper …
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.655] [LOG] Module helper loaded: updatenotification
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.656] [LOG] No helper found for module: clock.
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.717] [LOG] Initializing new module helper …
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.717] [LOG] Module helper loaded: calendar
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.718] [LOG] No helper found for module: compliments.
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.718] [LOG] No helper found for module: weather.
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.732] [LOG] Initializing new module helper …
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.733] [LOG] Module helper loaded: newsfeed
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.733] [LOG] All module helpers loaded.
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.737] [LOG] Starting server on port 8080 …
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.779] [LOG] Launching application.
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.812] [LOG] Server started …
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.818] [LOG] Connecting socket for: updatenotification
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.818] [LOG] Starting module helper: updatenotification
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.818] [LOG] Connecting socket for: calendar
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.819] [LOG] Starting node helper for: calendar
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.819] [LOG] Connecting socket for: newsfeed
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.819] [LOG] Starting node helper for: newsfeed
[28.06.2023 13:36.52.820] [LOG] Sockets connected & modules started …

am i supposed to do something next?

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109954https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/109954Wed, 28 Jun 2023 05:37:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Thu, 12 Jan 2023 02:21:32 GMT]]>@Reila hm… this is what mine is set to

"start": "node_modules\\.bin\\electron js\\electron.js",

and I don’t get any errors, but electron starts full screen, black screen

but if I open edge and go to localhost:8080 it looks great and if I open electron
(the 1st part, node_modules\.bin\electron) and go to http://localhost:8080
it works…

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107175https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107175Thu, 12 Jan 2023 02:21:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:29:58 GMT]]>@sdetweil No problem! Browser version works fine for tinkering in the meantime :)

npm is 8.17.0

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107171https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107171Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:29:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:24:52 GMT]]>@Reila I am away from my system at the moment be back in an hour or so.

what does npm -v say?

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107170https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107170Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:24:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 11 Jan 2023 23:54:01 GMT]]>@sdetweil
Oh, I just copied as it was! It might have been a different guide, it was old after all… I see the backward slashes in a later post now.

So now I tried

"start": "node_modules\\.bin\\electron  js\\electron.js",

(with both the double and single space, just in case) and it’s giving me the same error still.
I tested changing the start-dev variant too.
I must be missing another step still.

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107169https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107169Wed, 11 Jan 2023 23:54:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 11 Jan 2023 23:32:56 GMT]]>@Reila you did not do the package.json edit correctly.

windows uses slashes leaning left

and u need 2 in each place

node-modules\\.bin\\electron  js\\electron.js
]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107168https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107168Wed, 11 Jan 2023 23:32:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 11 Jan 2023 23:26:40 GMT]]>Heyo!
I’ve done a fresh install of MM2 (on Win10), and now I’m struggling with the blank electron screen.

I did the vendor and font install, changed the package.json to

"start":"node_modules/.bin/electron js/electron.js",

according to the guide on page 15, and now I’m getting

bash: line 1: node_modules.binelectron: command not found

on npm start, doesn’t start up MM.

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107167https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107167Wed, 11 Jan 2023 23:26:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:11:51 GMT]]>@dude31222 I don’t know. those are so far out of service…

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107137https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107137Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:11:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Complete Walkthrough - Install MagicMirror on a PC - Windows 7/10 on Tue, 10 Jan 2023 05:28:47 GMT]]>@sdetweil i did. Now i’ve upgraded to windows 8.1. still a black screen but a new error```
[0110/062053.181:ERROR:_trace_logging_minimal.win.cc<78>] provider resistration failure

]]>https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107129https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/107129Tue, 10 Jan 2023 05:28:47 GMT