This guide walks through building and deploying Sakai from source code.
Prerequisites
Before starting, ensure you have:
- Java 17 (for Sakai 24+) or Java 11 (for Sakai 22-23)
- Maven 3.9+ or use the included Maven wrapper
- Apache Tomcat 9 downloaded and extracted
- MySQL/MariaDB database server running
See System Requirements for full details.
Quick Start
For a complete installation guide, see the Sakai Install Guide on the Sakai wiki.
Step 1: Clone the Repository
Clone the Sakai source code from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/sakaiproject/sakai.git
cd sakai
Choose a Branch or Release
# For latest development version
git checkout master
# For a specific release
git checkout 25.1
master - Sakai 24 development25.1 - Latest stable release23.4 - Maintenance release
Step 2: Build Sakai
Build Sakai using Maven:
Or if you don’t have Maven installed:
The initial build downloads many dependencies and may take 15-30 minutes. Subsequent builds will be faster.
Build Options
Skip tests (faster build):
mvn install -Dmaven.test.skip=true
You must configure Tomcat according to the official Sakai Install Guide before deploying. Sakai will not work with default Tomcat settings.
setenv.sh - JVM memory and optionsserver.xml - Tomcat server configurationsakai.properties - Sakai-specific settings
Step 4: Deploy to Tomcat
Deploy the built Sakai artifacts to Tomcat:
mvn clean install sakai:deploy -Dmaven.tomcat.home=/path/to/your/tomcat
/path/to/your/tomcat with your actual Tomcat installation path.
Alternative: Deploy Exploded (Development)
For development with faster redeployment:
mvn clean install sakai:deploy-exploded -Dmaven.tomcat.home=/path/to/your/tomcat
Step 5: Start Tomcat
Start Tomcat and monitor the logs:
cd /path/to/your/tomcat/bin
./startup.sh && tail -f ../logs/catalina.out
Step 6: Access Sakai
Once startup is complete, open your browser and navigate to:
http://localhost:8080/portal
- Username:
admin
- Password:
admin
Change the default admin password immediately after first login.
Troubleshooting
Build Failures
OutOfMemoryError during build:
export MAVEN_OPTS="-Xmx2g -XX:MaxPermSize=512m"
mvn clean install
- Check your internet connection
- Try clearing Maven cache:
rm -rf ~/.m2/repository
Deployment Issues
Tomcat won’t start:
- Check
catalina.out for error messages
- Verify JVM settings in
setenv.sh
- Ensure ports 8080 and 8005 are not in use
Database connection errors:
- Verify database is running
- Check connection settings in
sakai.properties
- Ensure database user has proper permissions
Development Workflow
Building a Single Module
cd assignment
mvn clean install sakai:deploy -Dmaven.tomcat.home=/path/to/tomcat
Running Tests
# Run all tests
mvn test
# Run specific test class
mvn test -Dtest=TestClassName
# Run specific test method
mvn test -Dtest=TestClassName#testMethodName
Frontend Development
For web components development:
cd webcomponents/tool/src/main/frontend
npm install
npm run lint
npm run bundle
Next Steps