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Download Cuento CLI ↗step-by-step guide · no server experience needed
If you've ever set up a forum on Jcink or Forumotion, you already know more than you think. This guide walks you through four things you need — and then shows you how the CLI puts them all together automatically.
Don't worry if any of these sound unfamiliar — each one is explained step by step below.
A small program you run on your computer. It handles all the technical setup — interactively, like a wizard.
A free account on GitHub, where your forum's code will live. Sign-up takes two minutes.
A small computer on the internet that hosts your forum 24/7. Costs about $4–$8 per month.
Your forum's address — like myforum.com. Typically $8–$15 per year.
CLI stands for command-line interface — a program you run by typing short commands into a terminal window. Think of it as a setup wizard: it asks you questions and handles all the technical work in the background. You don't need to understand what it's doing; just follow the prompts.
After downloading, open Terminal (press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, press Enter). Then run these three commands — copy and paste them one at a time, pressing Enter after each.
cd (with a space), then drag the downloaded file into the Terminal window —
it will paste the path automatically. Press Enter, then try the commands again.
Download the Windows version. When you run it, Windows may show a blue security warning — click More info → Run anyway. This appears for any program without a paid publisher certificate; the Cuento CLI is open-source and safe.
Your forum needs a home on the internet — a computer that stays on around the clock and delivers pages to your visitors. A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is exactly that: a slice of a real server rented by the month from a hosting company.
We recommend Hetzner (hetzner.com) — reliable, affordable, and starting around $4/month. Other solid options are DigitalOcean and Vultr. All of them have beginner-friendly dashboards and clear sign-up flows.
When creating your new server (called a "droplet" on DigitalOcean or a "cloud server" on Hetzner), choose Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 as the operating system. The cheapest tier — 1 CPU and 1 GB RAM — is everything Cuento needs to run comfortably.
After the server is created you'll see an IP address — a string of numbers
like 12.34.56.78 — and you'll either receive or set a root password.
Write both of these down; the CLI will ask for them during setup.
GitHub is a free website where software projects are stored and shared publicly. You need a free account because the Cuento CLI will store your forum's code there and use it to automatically push updates to your server whenever a new version is released.
A free personal account is all you need. The sign-up is straightforward — just an email address and a password. You can ignore all the optional extras during onboarding.
The CLI uses a "token" — a long password — to act on your behalf on GitHub.
Go to Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic)
and click Generate new token (classic). Give it any name, set an expiration,
and check these boxes: repo, workflow, admin:public_key.
Click Generate token, then copy the long string it shows you — paste it
somewhere safe. You'll enter it into the CLI.
A domain name is your forum's address — the thing people type into their browser to reach you, like myforum.com or ourrpg.net. You register one from a domain registrar for a small yearly fee, typically $8–$15.
Often the cheapest option. Clean and simple control panel. A good choice for first-timers.
Popular and reliable. Good deals on first-year registrations and a familiar interface.
Sells domains at wholesale cost with no markup. Also adds free speed and security benefits.
You have everything you need. Open the CLI — a menu appears. Select Add new project and answer the questions one by one. Here's what it will ask and what to enter:
| What the CLI asks for | What to enter |
|---|---|
| GitHub token | The personal access token you created in Step 3 |
| Server IP address | The IP you noted from your VPS provider in Step 2 (e.g. 12.34.56.78) |
| SSH username | Usually root for a freshly created server |
| SSH password | The root password from your server provider |
| Domain | Your domain name from Step 4 (e.g. myforum.com) |
| Database passwords | Make up strong passwords and write them down somewhere safe |
Open the CLI again, pick your project, and choose Add User — the CLI will create an account directly in the database and ask whether to grant it admin privileges. Then visit your forum's URL, log in, and explore the admin panel — subforums, templates, widget panels, and permissions are all waiting for you there.
When a new version of Cuento is released, open the CLI again, pick your project, and choose Update. The CLI checks what changed and takes care of the rest — no manual work required.
The CLI reference page covers every command in depth, and the docs walk through all the admin panel features.
Download the CLI and have your forum running today.
Download Cuento CLI ↗