Requirements

The tools listed below are recommended for theme development. A PrestaShop theme is ultimately a set of template, CSS, and JavaScript files. You can create one with just a text editor. However, working with Hummingbird’s source code and modern tooling requires the following.

Tools

Tool	Status	Purpose
Node.js 20.x + npm 8+	Recommended	Dependency management, asset compilation, task running, and linting
Git	Recommended	Version control, cloning Hummingbird
Docker + Docker Compose	Optional	Run a full PrestaShop environment without a local PHP/MySQL stack

Node.js and npm are needed to compile Hummingbird’s SCSS and JavaScript / TypeScript source files. If you are building a simple theme without a build pipeline, they are not strictly required.

Node.js

Install from nodejs.org. To manage multiple Node.js versions, use nvm, fnm or mise.

Hummingbird includes a .nvmrc file. If you use nvm, run nvm use in the theme directory to automatically switch to the correct Node.js version.

Verify your installation:

node -v   # Should output v20.x

Git

Install from git-scm.com.

Verify your installation:

git --version

Docker

Install from docker.com. Docker is the easiest way to get a running PrestaShop instance if you don’t already have a local PHP and MySQL setup. Hummingbird includes ready-to-use Docker Compose configurations.

Verify your installation:

docker --version
docker compose version

Next step

Once your tools are installed, follow the Quick start to get a working theme in minutes, or see Environment setup for detailed configuration options.