---
title: "What to Do After You Purchase"
description: "A complete, beginner-friendly guide to what happens after you buy Nuxas. Learn how to download your files, install the tools you need on Windows, and prepare your computer for development."
canonical_url: "https://nuxas.pages.dev/docs/03-after-purchase"
---

> Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://nuxas.pages.dev/llms.txt)

## What to Do After You Purchase

Congratulations on your purchase. You now own a complete, production-grade Nuxt 4 SaaS template. This chapter explains exactly what to do next, step by step, assuming you have never set up a development environment before.

We will walk through five things:

1. Download your files from Gumroad.
2. Install the tools you need on your computer.
3. Unzip the project and place it somewhere sensible.
4. Open the project in your code editor.
5. Confirm that everything is ready to run.

By the end of this chapter, your computer will be fully prepared. The next chapter will show you how to run the project for the first time.

### Step 1 — Download Your Files from Gumroad

After you complete your purchase, Gumroad will send you an email with a download link. The email usually arrives within a minute or two. If you do not see it, check your spam folder.

Click the download link. You will be taken to a Gumroad page where you can download a ZIP file. The file will be named something like `nuxas-code-only.zip` or `nuxas-cms.zip`, depending on which edition you purchased.

Save the ZIP file to a location you can find easily. On Windows, a good choice is the `Downloads` folder.

**Important:** The ZIP file is your permanent copy of Nuxas. Keep it safe. If you lose it, you can re-download it from Gumroad at any time, but keeping a local copy is always a good habit.

### Step 2 — Install the Tools You Need

To work with Nuxas, you need three tools on your computer:

1. **Node.js** — the runtime that executes JavaScript on your computer.
2. **Visual Studio Code** — a free code editor from Microsoft.
3. **Git** — a tool for tracking changes and pushing your code to GitHub later.

Let us install each one. All three are free, and all three have Windows installers that require only clicking "Next" a few times.

#### Installing Node.js

Node.js is the engine that runs the Nuxt development server. Without it, you cannot start the project.

1. Open your browser and go to [https://nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org).
2. You will see two buttons: **LTS** and **Current**. Click **LTS**. LTS stands for "Long Term Support" and is the stable version recommended for most users.
3. Download the Windows installer (`.msi` file).
4. Once downloaded, double-click the installer.
5. Click **Next** on every screen. Leave all settings at their defaults.
6. On the final screen, click **Install**. Windows may ask for permission. Click **Yes**.
7. When the installer finishes, click **Finish**.

To verify that Node.js is installed correctly, open the Start menu, type `cmd`, and press Enter. A black window will open. This is the **Command Prompt**, sometimes called the terminal. Type the following and press Enter:

```cmd
node --version
```

You should see a version number, something like `v22.11.0`. If you see a number, Node.js is installed correctly.

Next, type:

```cmd
npm --version
```

You should see another version number, something like `10.9.0`. `npm` is the package manager that comes with Node.js. It is what you will use to install the project's dependencies.

If either command returns an error, close the Command Prompt, restart your computer, and try again. In rare cases, you may need to reinstall Node.js.

#### Installing Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code, often called VS Code, is the editor you will use to read and modify the Nuxas code.

1. Go to [https://code.visualstudio.com](https://code.visualstudio.com).
2. Click the big blue **Download** button. The website will detect that you are on Windows and offer the Windows installer.
3. Download the installer (`.exe` file).
4. Double-click the installer.
5. Accept the license agreement and click **Next**.
6. On the "Select Additional Tasks" screen, check the box that says **Add to PATH**. This makes it easier to open VS Code from the terminal later.
7. Click **Next**, then **Install**.
8. When the installer finishes, click **Finish**. VS Code will open automatically.

You do not need to configure anything in VS Code right now. We will come back to it in a moment.

#### Installing Git

Git is the tool that tracks changes to your code and lets you push your project to GitHub later.

1. Go to [https://git-scm.com/download/win](https://git-scm.com/download/win).
2. The download should start automatically. If it does not, click the link that says **Click here to download manually**.
3. Once downloaded, double-click the installer.
4. Click **Next** on every screen. The default options are fine for almost everyone.
5. On the screen that asks about the default editor, you can leave it as **Vim** or change it to **Use Visual Studio Code as Git's default editor**. Either is fine.
6. On the screen about the PATH environment, leave the default: **Git from the command line and also from 3rd-party software**.
7. Continue clicking **Next** until you reach **Install**. Click it.
8. When finished, click **Finish**.

To verify that Git is installed, open a new Command Prompt (close the old one first) and type:

```cmd
git --version
```

You should see a version number, something like `git version 2.46.0.windows.1`.

### Step 3 — Unzip the Project

Now that your tools are installed, it is time to unzip the project.

1. Locate the ZIP file you downloaded from Gumroad. It is probably in your `Downloads` folder.
2. Right-click the ZIP file and choose **Extract All**.
3. Windows will ask where to extract the files. Choose a location that is easy to remember. A good choice is `C:\Projects\` or `C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Projects\`.
4. Click **Extract**.

After extraction, you will have a folder named something like `nuxas-code-only` or `nuxas-cms`. Inside that folder, you will find the project files: `package.json`, `nuxt.config.ts`, the `app` folder, the `content` folder, and so on.

**A note on folder names:** Avoid putting the project inside a folder path that contains spaces or special characters. Windows handles them fine, but some development tools do not. A path like `C:\Projects\nuxas` is safer than `C:\Users\John Doe\My Projects\Nuxas Final v2`.

### Step 4 — Open the Project in VS Code

Now let us open the project in VS Code.

1. Open VS Code.
2. From the menu, choose **File → Open Folder**.
3. Navigate to the folder where you extracted Nuxas. For example, `C:\Projects\nuxas`.
4. Click **Select Folder**.

VS Code will open the project. On the left side, you will see the file explorer with all the project files. Take a moment to look around. You do not need to understand everything yet.

You may notice that VS Code shows a notification in the bottom right corner, suggesting to install recommended extensions. Click **Install** if you see it. The extensions will help you write TypeScript and Vue code more comfortably.

### Step 5 — Confirm Everything Is Ready

Before we move on to the next chapter, let us confirm that everything is in place.

Open a terminal inside VS Code. From the menu, choose **Terminal → New Terminal**. A panel will open at the bottom of the window with a command prompt.

Type the following and press Enter:

```cmd
node --version
```

You should see a version number. Then type:

```cmd
npm --version
```

And finally:

```cmd
git --version
```

If all three commands return version numbers, your computer is ready. The project is on your disk, the tools are installed, and VS Code is open.

If any command returns an error, go back to Step 2 and reinstall the missing tool. Do not skip this check — every later step depends on these tools working correctly.

### What to Expect in the Next Chapter

In the next chapter, we will install the project's dependencies with a single command, start the development server, and open the site in your browser for the first time. This is the moment where Nuxas comes alive on your computer.

If you have any questions before then, take a moment to re-read this chapter. Every step is important, and every tool we installed will be used in the chapters ahead.

See you in the next chapter.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](https://nuxas.pages.dev/sitemap.md) for all pages.