---
layout: docs
title: Bootstrap and Parcel
description: The official guide for how to include and bundle Bootstrap's CSS and JavaScript in your project using Parcel.
group: getting-started
toc: true
thumbnail: guides/bootstrap-parcel@2x.png
---
{{< callout >}}
**Want to skip to the end?** Download the source code and working demo for this guide from the [twbs/examples repository](https://github.com/twbs/examples/tree/main/parcel). You can also [open the example in StackBlitz](https://stackblitz.com/github/twbs/examples/tree/main/parcel?file=index.html) but not run it because Parcel isn't currently supported there.
{{< /callout >}}
## Setup
We're building a Parcel project with Bootstrap from scratch, so there are some prerequisites and up front steps before we can really get started. This guide requires you to have Node.js installed and some familiarity with the terminal.
1. **Create a project folder and setup npm.** We'll create the `my-project` folder and initialize npm with the `-y` argument to avoid it asking us all the interactive questions.
```sh
mkdir my-project && cd my-project
npm init -y
```
2. **Install Parcel.** Unlike our Webpack guide, there's only a single build tool dependency here. Parcel will automatically install language transformers (like Sass) as it detects them. We use `--save-dev` to signal that this dependency is only for development use and not for production.
```sh
npm i --save-dev parcel
```
3. **Install Bootstrap.** Now we can install Bootstrap. We'll also install Popper since our dropdowns, popovers, and tooltips depend on it for their positioning. If you don't plan on using those components, you can omit Popper here.
```sh
npm i --save bootstrap @popperjs/core
```
Now that we have all the necessary dependencies installed, we can get to work creating the project files and importing Bootstrap.
## Project structure
We've already created the `my-project` folder and initialized npm. Now we'll also create our `src` folder, stylesheet, and JavaScript file to round out the project structure. Run the following from `my-project`, or manually create the folder and file structure shown below.
```sh
mkdir {src,src/js,src/scss}
touch src/index.html src/js/main.js src/scss/styles.scss
```
When you're done, your complete project should look like this:
```text
my-project/
├── src/
│ ├── js/
│ │ └── main.js
│ ├── scss/
│ │ └── styles.scss
│ └── index.html
├── package-lock.json
└── package.json
```
At this point, everything is in the right place, but Parcel needs an HTML page and npm script to start our server.
## Configure Parcel
With dependencies installed and our project folder ready for us to start coding, we can now configure Parcel and run our project locally. Parcel itself requires no configuration file by design, but we do need an npm script and an HTML file to start our server.
1. **Fill in the `src/index.html` file.** Parcel needs a page to render, so we use our `index.html` page to set up some basic HTML, including our CSS and JavaScript files.
```html
Bootstrap w/ Parcel
Hello, Bootstrap and Parcel!
```
We're including a little bit of Bootstrap styling here with the `div class="container"` and `
{{< callout >}}
**Want to skip to the end?** Download the source code and working demo for this guide from the [twbs/examples repository](https://github.com/twbs/examples/tree/main/parcel). You can also [open the example in StackBlitz](https://stackblitz.com/github/twbs/examples/tree/main/parcel?file=index.html) but not run it because Parcel isn't currently supported there.
{{< /callout >}}
## Setup
We're building a Parcel project with Bootstrap from scratch, so there are some prerequisites and up front steps before we can really get started. This guide requires you to have Node.js installed and some familiarity with the terminal.
1. **Create a project folder and setup npm.** We'll create the `my-project` folder and initialize npm with the `-y` argument to avoid it asking us all the interactive questions.
```sh
mkdir my-project && cd my-project
npm init -y
```
2. **Install Parcel.** Unlike our Webpack guide, there's only a single build tool dependency here. Parcel will automatically install language transformers (like Sass) as it detects them. We use `--save-dev` to signal that this dependency is only for development use and not for production.
```sh
npm i --save-dev parcel
```
3. **Install Bootstrap.** Now we can install Bootstrap. We'll also install Popper since our dropdowns, popovers, and tooltips depend on it for their positioning. If you don't plan on using those components, you can omit Popper here.
```sh
npm i --save bootstrap @popperjs/core
```
Now that we have all the necessary dependencies installed, we can get to work creating the project files and importing Bootstrap.
## Project structure
We've already created the `my-project` folder and initialized npm. Now we'll also create our `src` folder, stylesheet, and JavaScript file to round out the project structure. Run the following from `my-project`, or manually create the folder and file structure shown below.
```sh
mkdir {src,src/js,src/scss}
touch src/index.html src/js/main.js src/scss/styles.scss
```
When you're done, your complete project should look like this:
```text
my-project/
├── src/
│ ├── js/
│ │ └── main.js
│ ├── scss/
│ │ └── styles.scss
│ └── index.html
├── package-lock.json
└── package.json
```
At this point, everything is in the right place, but Parcel needs an HTML page and npm script to start our server.
## Configure Parcel
With dependencies installed and our project folder ready for us to start coding, we can now configure Parcel and run our project locally. Parcel itself requires no configuration file by design, but we do need an npm script and an HTML file to start our server.
1. **Fill in the `src/index.html` file.** Parcel needs a page to render, so we use our `index.html` page to set up some basic HTML, including our CSS and JavaScript files.
```html