# Auto-starting DrawIt

After you know that DrawIt is up and running, you should have a mechanism that auto-start the service.

## SystemD

A common way to auto-start a service is to use systemd. There is a [dedicated file](SYSTEMD.md) for how to use this method.

## PM2

Another way to start the service is using something called PM2. This can be used for any npm/node project.

### Guide

1. Install PM2: `npm install pm2`
2. Install PM2 Logrotate: `npm install pm2-logrotate`
3. Start the server: `pm2 start npm --name "drawit" -- start`

You should now be running your very own DrawIt instance!

## Additional reading

After you know *it works!*, you should set up a [reverse proxy](REVERSE_PROXIES.md).