Bootstrap/site/content/docs/4.3/getting-started/introduction.md

---
layout: docs
title: Introduction
description: Get started with Bootstrap, the world's most popular framework for building responsive, mobile-first sites, with BootstrapCDN and a template starter page.
group: getting-started
aliases:
  - "/docs/4.3/getting-started/"
  - "/docs/getting-started/"
  - "/getting-started/"
toc: true
---

## Quick start

Looking to quickly add Bootstrap to your project? Use BootstrapCDN, provided for free by the folks at StackPath. Using a package manager or need to download the source files? [Head to the downloads page]({{< docsref "/getting-started/download" >}}).

### CSS

Copy-paste the stylesheet `<link>` into your `<head>` before all other stylesheets to load our CSS.

{{< highlight html >}}
<link rel="stylesheet" href="{{< param "cdn.css" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.css_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous">
{{< /highlight >}}

### JS

Many of our components require the use of JavaScript to function. Specifically, they require our own JavaScript plugins and [Popper.js](https://popper.js.org/). Place the following `<script>`s near the end of your pages, right before the closing `</body>` tag, to enable them. Popper.js must come first, and then our JavaScript plugins.

{{< highlight html >}}
<script src="{{< param "cdn.popper" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.popper_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<script src="{{< param "cdn.js" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.js_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
{{< /highlight >}}

If you use `<script type="module">`, please refer to our [using Bootstrap as a module]({{< docsref "/getting-started/javascript#using-bootstrap-as-a-module" >}}) section.

Curious which components explicitly require our JavaScript and Popper.js? Click the show components link below. If you're at all unsure about the general page structure, keep reading for an example page template.

Our `bootstrap.bundle.js` and `bootstrap.bundle.min.js` include [Popper](https://popper.js.org/). For more information about what's included in Bootstrap, please see our [contents]({{< docsref "/getting-started/contents#precompiled-bootstrap" >}}) section.

{{< partial "getting-started/components-requiring-javascript" >}}

## Starter template

Be sure to have your pages set up with the latest design and development standards. That means using an HTML5 doctype and including a viewport meta tag for proper responsive behaviors. Put it all together and your pages should look like this:

{{< highlight html >}}
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <!-- Required meta tags -->
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

    <!-- Bootstrap CSS -->
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="{{< param "cdn.css" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.css_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous">

    <title>Hello, world!</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Hello, world!</h1>

    <!-- Optional JavaScript -->
    <!-- Popper.js first, then Bootstrap JS -->
    <script src="{{< param "cdn.popper" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.popper_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
    <script src="{{< param "cdn.js" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.js_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
  </body>
</html>
{{< /highlight >}}

That's all you need for overall page requirements. Visit the [Layout docs]({{< docsref "/layout/overview" >}}) or [our official examples]({{< docsref "/examples" >}}) to start laying out your site's content and components.

## Important globals

Bootstrap employs a handful of important global styles and settings that you'll need to be aware of when using it, all of which are almost exclusively geared towards the *normalization* of cross browser styles. Let's dive in.

### HTML5 doctype

Bootstrap requires the use of the HTML5 doctype. Without it, you'll see some funky incomplete styling, but including it shouldn't cause any considerable hiccups.

{{< highlight html >}}
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
  ...
</html>
{{< /highlight >}}

### Responsive meta tag

Bootstrap is developed *mobile first*, a strategy in which we optimize code for mobile devices first and then scale up components as necessary using CSS media queries. To ensure proper rendering and touch zooming for all devices, **add the responsive viewport meta tag** to your `<head>`.

{{< highlight html >}}
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
{{< /highlight >}}

You can see an example of this in action in the [starter template](#starter-template).

### Box-sizing

For more straightforward sizing in CSS, we switch the global `box-sizing` value from `content-box` to `border-box`. This ensures `padding` does not affect the final computed width of an element, but it can cause problems with some third party software like Google Maps and Google Custom Search Engine.

On the rare occasion you need to override it, use something like the following:

{{< highlight css >}}
.selector-for-some-widget {
  box-sizing: content-box;
}
{{< /highlight >}}

With the above snippet, nested elements—including generated content via `::before` and `::after`—will all inherit the specified `box-sizing` for that `.selector-for-some-widget`.

Learn more about [box model and sizing at CSS Tricks](https://css-tricks.com/box-sizing/).

### Reboot

For improved cross-browser rendering, we use [Reboot]({{< docsref "/content/reboot" >}}) to correct inconsistencies across browsers and devices while providing slightly more opinionated resets to common HTML elements.

## Community

Stay up to date on the development of Bootstrap and reach out to the community with these helpful resources.

- Follow [@getbootstrap on Twitter](https://twitter.com/{{< param twitter >}}).
- Read and subscribe to [The Official Bootstrap Blog]({{< param blog >}}/).
- Join [the official Slack room]({{< param slack >}}/).
- Chat with fellow Bootstrappers in IRC. On the `irc.freenode.net` server, in the `##bootstrap` channel.
- Implementation help may be found at Stack Overflow (tagged [`bootstrap-4`](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/bootstrap-4)).
- Developers should use the keyword `bootstrap` on packages which modify or add to the functionality of Bootstrap when distributing through [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=keywords:bootstrap) or similar delivery mechanisms for maximum discoverability.

You can also follow [@getbootstrap on Twitter](https://twitter.com/{{< param twitter >}}) for the latest gossip and awesome music videos.
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			`---`
Massive cleanup - Simpler main nav on all pages - Back to purple masthead on homepage instead of dark graphite - Active link styles on the main nav - Cleaned up sidebar nav - New docs layout name - Homepage copy edits - Updated bright purple docs color 2015-08-15 07:45:55 +02:00			`layout: docs`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			`title: Introduction`
Link to BootstrapCDN and fix its name. (#24987) 2017-12-16 09:38:51 +01:00			`description: Get started with Bootstrap, the world's most popular framework for building responsive, mobile-first sites, with BootstrapCDN and a template starter page.`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			`group: getting-started`
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`aliases:`
Release v4.3.0 (#28228) * Prep for v4.3.0 * More updates for v4.3.0. * rerun to build docs source map 2019-02-11 20:15:34 +01:00			`- "/docs/4.3/getting-started/"`
Add a few more redirects. 2018-12-30 16:08:28 +01:00			`- "/docs/getting-started/"`
			`- "/getting-started/"`
swap kramdown toc for jekyll-toc plugin, update page layout to only show on xl and above 2017-05-28 06:44:42 +02:00			`toc: true`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			`---`

			`## Quick start`

Add a docsref shortcode. This allows for the build to fail if a reference isn't found. 2019-02-04 11:22:02 +01:00			`Looking to quickly add Bootstrap to your project? Use BootstrapCDN, provided for free by the folks at StackPath. Using a package manager or need to download the source files? [Head to the downloads page]({{< docsref "/getting-started/download" >}}).`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00
Require quick start to be more explicit about CSS and JS 2017-10-03 02:32:30 +02:00			`### CSS`

new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			Copy-paste the stylesheet `<link>` into your `<head>` before all other stylesheets to load our CSS.

Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< highlight html >}}`
			`<link rel="stylesheet" href="{{< param "cdn.css" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.css_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous">`
			`{{< /highlight >}}`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00
Require quick start to be more explicit about CSS and JS 2017-10-03 02:32:30 +02:00			`### JS`

Remove jQuery from docs/repo. Some of the snippets need to be updated later. 2019-02-19 15:19:02 +01:00			Many of our components require the use of JavaScript to function. Specifically, they require our own JavaScript plugins and [Popper.js](https://popper.js.org/). Place the following `<script>`s near the end of your pages, right before the closing `</body>` tag, to enable them. Popper.js must come first, and then our JavaScript plugins.
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< highlight html >}}`
			`<script src="{{< param "cdn.popper" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.popper_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>`
			`<script src="{{< param "cdn.js" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.js_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>`
			`{{< /highlight >}}`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00
Add a docsref shortcode. This allows for the build to fail if a reference isn't found. 2019-02-04 11:22:02 +01:00			If you use `<script type="module">`, please refer to our [using Bootstrap as a module]({{< docsref "/getting-started/javascript#using-bootstrap-as-a-module" >}}) section.
add docs about how to use the esm version 2019-03-03 11:01:29 +01:00
Remove jQuery from docs/repo. Some of the snippets need to be updated later. 2019-02-19 15:19:02 +01:00			`Curious which components explicitly require our JavaScript and Popper.js? Click the show components link below. If you're at all unsure about the general page structure, keep reading for an example page template.`
Require quick start to be more explicit about CSS and JS 2017-10-03 02:32:30 +02:00
Add a docsref shortcode. This allows for the build to fail if a reference isn't found. 2019-02-04 11:22:02 +01:00			Our `bootstrap.bundle.js` and `bootstrap.bundle.min.js` include [Popper](https://popper.js.org/). For more information about what's included in Bootstrap, please see our [contents]({{< docsref "/getting-started/contents#precompiled-bootstrap" >}}) section.
Add additional wording to the Introduction section of Bootstrap docs about the bootstrap bundle js (#26688) 2018-06-11 15:14:02 +02:00
Move this to a partial to work around the stray `p` issue. 2019-02-04 08:09:07 +01:00			`{{< partial "getting-started/components-requiring-javascript" >}}`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00
			`## Starter template`

v4: Rip out IE compatibility mode meta tags (#21483) * Remove IE compatibility mode meta tag from docs, examples, and JS tests as we no longer support IE9 and IE8 * update and remove some IE bits from our supported browser page * update introduction.md to match * reword starter template intro 2016-12-31 21:20:32 +01:00			`Be sure to have your pages set up with the latest design and development standards. That means using an HTML5 doctype and including a viewport meta tag for proper responsive behaviors. Put it all together and your pages should look like this:`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< highlight html >}}`
Switch to lowercase `doctype`. (#24217) Having it uppercase doesn't offer anything and the lowercase version slightly improves gzip compression. 2017-10-03 18:34:59 +02:00			`<!doctype html>`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			`<html lang="en">`
			`<head>`
v4: Rip out IE compatibility mode meta tags (#21483) * Remove IE compatibility mode meta tag from docs, examples, and JS tests as we no longer support IE9 and IE8 * update and remove some IE bits from our supported browser page * update introduction.md to match * reword starter template intro 2016-12-31 21:20:32 +01:00			`<!-- Required meta tags -->`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			`<meta charset="utf-8">`
Remove the now unneeded `shrink-to-fit` directive. (#28314) 2019-02-27 16:47:41 +01:00			`<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00
			`<!-- Bootstrap CSS -->`
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`<link rel="stylesheet" href="{{< param "cdn.css" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.css_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous">`
getting-started/introduction.md: move title below the retired meta tags. 2017-11-03 12:33:11 +01:00
			`<title>Hello, world!</title>`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			`</head>`
			`<body>`
			`<h1>Hello, world!</h1>`

clarify optional js, add some links, emphasize some text 2017-08-08 06:42:36 +02:00			`<!-- Optional JavaScript -->`
Remove jQuery from docs/repo. Some of the snippets need to be updated later. 2019-02-19 15:19:02 +01:00			`<!-- Popper.js first, then Bootstrap JS -->`
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`<script src="{{< param "cdn.popper" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.popper_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>`
			`<script src="{{< param "cdn.js" >}}" integrity="{{< param "cdn.js_hash" >}}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00			`</body>`
			`</html>`
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< /highlight >}}`
new getting started intro overview doodad 2015-08-10 07:48:33 +02:00
Add a docsref shortcode. This allows for the build to fail if a reference isn't found. 2019-02-04 11:22:02 +01:00			`That's all you need for overall page requirements. Visit the [Layout docs]({{< docsref "/layout/overview" >}}) or [our official examples]({{< docsref "/examples" >}}) to start laying out your site's content and components.`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00
			`## Important globals`

			`Bootstrap employs a handful of important global styles and settings that you'll need to be aware of when using it, all of which are almost exclusively geared towards the normalization of cross browser styles. Let's dive in.`

			`### HTML5 doctype`

			`Bootstrap requires the use of the HTML5 doctype. Without it, you'll see some funky incomplete styling, but including it shouldn't cause any considerable hiccups.`

Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< highlight html >}}`
Switch to lowercase `doctype`. (#24217) Having it uppercase doesn't offer anything and the lowercase version slightly improves gzip compression. 2017-10-03 18:34:59 +02:00			`<!doctype html>`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00			`<html lang="en">`
			`...`
			`</html>`
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< /highlight >}}`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00
			`### Responsive meta tag`

			Bootstrap is developed mobile first, a strategy in which we optimize code for mobile devices first and then scale up components as necessary using CSS media queries. To ensure proper rendering and touch zooming for all devices, add the responsive viewport meta tag to your `<head>`.

Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< highlight html >}}`
Remove the now unneeded `shrink-to-fit` directive. (#28314) 2019-02-27 16:47:41 +01:00			`<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">`
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< /highlight >}}`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00
introduction.md: Fix typo: "started template" 2015-08-21 03:21:35 +02:00			`You can see an example of this in action in the [starter template](#starter-template).`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00
			`### Box-sizing`

Fix typo in docs/getting-started/introduction.md Remove 'including'. 2015-12-26 18:41:42 +01:00			For more straightforward sizing in CSS, we switch the global `box-sizing` value from `content-box` to `border-box`. This ensures `padding` does not affect the final computed width of an element, but it can cause problems with some third party software like Google Maps and Google Custom Search Engine.
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00
			`On the rare occasion you need to override it, use something like the following:`

Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< highlight css >}}`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00			`.selector-for-some-widget {`
Documentation cleanup (inc. use of <input ... readonly> for static form controls example) * Fix incorrect code indentation * Remove unnecessary vendor prefix for `box-sizing` - all modern browsers now support this unprefixed * Remove incorrect `<label>` and change static controls to readonly inputs * Allow `<img>` elements without `src` to allow for `holder.js` images used in the docs, which lack `src` and use `data-src` instead 2017-04-28 00:57:10 +02:00			`box-sizing: content-box;`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00			`}`
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`{{< /highlight >}}`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00
Use CSS3 pseudo elements in documentation 2017-09-08 02:06:02 +02:00			With the above snippet, nested elements—including generated content via `::before` and `::after`—will all inherit the specified `box-sizing` for that `.selector-for-some-widget`.
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00
			`Learn more about [box model and sizing at CSS Tricks](https://css-tricks.com/box-sizing/).`

Drop Normalize, port relevant parts to Reboot (#21741) * Get this party started by removing mention of Normalize.css * Nuke the old comment, consolidate to a single line and number as appropriate * Bring over styles for HTML element from Normalize to Reboot * Move margin override for body element from Normalize to Reboot * Drop the block reset for HTML5 elements in IE9- from Normalize given we dropped IE9 support * Building on previous commit, do the same thing for figure, figcaption, and main * Remove IE9- display from Normalize given our browser support * Drop IE8 figure margin because we're IE10+ * No need for the h1 overrides because we reset these font and margin styles anyway in _type.scss already * Drop Safari 6 b and strong normalization because we're Safari 8+ * Remove mark styles for IE9- from Normalize * Remove old iOS audio fixes from Normalize * Remove IE9- display for progress from Normalize * Remove more IE9- rules from Normalize * One more IE9- display removal for canvas element * Move pre overrides from Normalize to Reboot * Move over some link resets to Reboot, drop others - Move over background-color and text-decoration - Drop focus outline change given it affects the offset on hover of focused links * Move over more code element resets, consolidate with pre overrides, too * Move over sub and sup wholesale * Move over img normalization to Reboot * Move over SVG override too * - Drop dupe hidden, but add comment for it - Move over template - Move over summary * Remove bulk of @viewport comment * edit down that code comment * consolidate html-based normalizations * update comments * Consolidate abbr styles * move over more type elements * move over hr changes * move over form controls and more * move over button resets * move over firefox button changes * move over search changes and more * we nuke all these styles for fieldsets anyway, so outright remove them * no need for those, we override them * move over legend, fieldset, progress * line break * delete normalize file * linting * update comment * clarify docs mentions of normalize and reboot * remove normalize excludes from linter * remove normalize excludes from cli task * linting * callout license since we forked part of normalize * Improve comments, move table background reset to .table class instead of in reboot * trailing space 2017-01-21 23:14:25 +01:00			`### Reboot`
mention globals in intro page 2015-08-10 20:02:39 +02:00
Add a docsref shortcode. This allows for the build to fail if a reference isn't found. 2019-02-04 11:22:02 +01:00			`For improved cross-browser rendering, we use [Reboot]({{< docsref "/content/reboot" >}}) to correct inconsistencies across browsers and devices while providing slightly more opinionated resets to common HTML elements.`
rip community as separate page, move to intro and restore table of contents on intro 2015-08-10 20:11:35 +02:00
			`## Community`

			`Stay up to date on the development of Bootstrap and reach out to the community with these helpful resources.`

Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`- Follow [@getbootstrap on Twitter](https://twitter.com/{{< param twitter >}}).`
			`- Read and subscribe to [The Official Bootstrap Blog]({{< param blog >}}/).`
			`- Join [the official Slack room]({{< param slack >}}/).`
rip community as separate page, move to intro and restore table of contents on intro 2015-08-10 20:11:35 +02:00			- Chat with fellow Bootstrappers in IRC. On the `irc.freenode.net` server, in the `##bootstrap` channel.
Update StackOverflow tag to `bootstrap-4`; closes #17675 2015-09-22 13:47:32 +02:00			- Implementation help may be found at Stack Overflow (tagged [`bootstrap-4`](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/bootstrap-4)).
Fix a few links. * fix `/versions/` link * add missing trailing slashes * fix a couple of redirects 2018-10-13 12:07:23 +02:00			- Developers should use the keyword `bootstrap` on packages which modify or add to the functionality of Bootstrap when distributing through [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=keywords:bootstrap) or similar delivery mechanisms for maximum discoverability.
rip community as separate page, move to intro and restore table of contents on intro 2015-08-10 20:11:35 +02:00
Switch to Hugo. No more Ruby dependency and most important more than 10 times less build time (at least on Windows)! 2019-01-08 17:33:28 +01:00			`You can also follow [@getbootstrap on Twitter](https://twitter.com/{{< param twitter >}}) for the latest gossip and awesome music videos.`