v15 Stable Getting Started with Frappe Framework v15

Frappe Framework is a full-stack, battery-included, web application framework written in Python (server) and JavaScript (client). It powers ERPNext and thousands of enterprise custom applications.

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1. What is Frappe Framework v15?

Frappe Framework v15 is the major release of Frappe focusing on enhanced performance, modern desk interfaces, modular architecture, refined ORM & Query Builder capabilities, and robust background job processing via Redis and RQ.

Core Pillars of Frappe

Layer	Technology	Key Responsibility
Database	MariaDB 10.6+ / PostgreSQL 14+	Persistent relational storage, automatic migrations
Server	Python 3.10+ / WSGI	Business logic, Document controllers, REST API, ORM
In-Memory Cache & Queues	Redis (Cache & Queue)	Session management, caching, RQ background workers
Client Desk	JavaScript (ES6+), jQuery, Vue 3	Dynamic auto-generated UI, Form scripts, Controls
Asset Pipeline	Esbuild	Lightning-fast JS/CSS bundling
CLI Tool	Bench (Python CLI)	Multi-site environment management, app setup, updates

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2. System Requirements & Prerequisites

To develop with Frappe Framework v15, ensure your system meets the following requirements:

• OS: Linux (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS recommended), macOS (macOS 12+), or WSL2 on Windows
• Python: 3.10, 3.11, or 3.12
• Node.js: 18.x or 20.x (LTS) & Yarn 1.x
• MariaDB: 10.6+ (with barracuda format and utf8mb4 encoding)
• Redis: 6.x or 7.x
• Git: 2.30+
• wkhtmltopdf: 0.12.6 with patched qt (for PDF generation)

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3. Installing Bench & Setting Up Development Environment

Bench is the official command-line utility used to manage Frappe environments, create apps, install sites, and run database migrations.

Step 1: Install Bench CLI

pip install bench

Step 2: Initialize a New Bench Instance

bench init frappe-bench --frappe-branch version-15
cd frappe-bench

Step 3: Create a New Site

bench new-site site1.localhost --admin-password admin --db-name site1_db

Step 4: Start Development Servers

bench start

This will launch:

• Web server (Gunicorn / Werkzeug) at http://localhost:8000
• Redis Cache server at localhost:13000
• Redis Queue server at localhost:11000
• Node socket.io server at localhost:9000
• Worker processes for background jobs

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4. Directory Structure of Frappe Bench

A standard Frappe v15 Bench layout:

frappe-bench/
├── apps/
│   ├── frappe/                  # Core Frappe Framework app
│   └── my_custom_app/           # Your custom app directory
│       ├── my_custom_app/
│       │   ├── hooks.py         # Application events & overrides
│       │   ├── modules.txt      # List of application modules
│       │   ├── patches.txt      # Database migration patches
│       │   ├── my_module/       # Module directory (DocTypes, Reports, Pages)
│       │   ├── public/          # Client static assets (js, css, images)
│       │   ├── templates/       # Jinja web page templates
│       │   └── www/             # Web portal routes
│       └── pyproject.toml
├── sites/
│   ├── currentsite.txt          # Active site name
│   ├── assets/                  # Symlinked static assets
│   └── site1.localhost/         # Site specific data & site_config.json
│       ├── site_config.json     # DB credentials & site settings
│       ├── public/              # Site uploaded public files
│       └── private/             # Site uploaded private files
├── env/                         # Python Virtual Environment
├── config/                      # Generated Nginx & Supervisor configs
└── Procfile                     # Development process runner configuration

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5. First Frappe App Creation

# 1. Create a new application
bench new-app my_custom_app

# 2. Install the application on your target site
bench --site site1.localhost install-app my_custom_app

# 3. Create a new DocType using Desk UI or CLI
# Navigate to http://localhost:8000 and log in as Administrator

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Related Topics & Next Steps

• Proceed to 02. Frappe Architecture to understand request routing and execution stack.
• Check 03. Bench CLI Reference for all terminal commands.