DFE-Digital/govuk-components

---
title: Get started
---

markdown:
  GOV.UK Components are suitable for use with any Rails application that uses the
  GOV.UK Design System. They are built using [GitHub's ViewComponent](https://viewcomponent.org/)
  framework and are easy to distribute and reuse.

  If you’re starting from scratch, the easiest way to hit the ground running is
  to use the DfE’s [GOV.UK Rails Template](https://github.com/DFE-Digital/rails-template).

  ## Installation

  Add the following line to your Gemfile and run `bundle install`.

.code-sample
  pre
    code.highlight.language-ruby
      | gem 'govuk-components'

markdown:
  When you restart your application you should have access to the full set of
  components. You make sure everything's working by creating one in the
  `rails console`:

.code-sample
  pre
    code.highlight.language-ruby
      | GovukComponent::PanelComponent.new(title_text: "Hello", text: "world!")

markdown:
  If you don't see any error messages, it's properly installed --- you can start
  [adding components to your templates](/introduction/using-components).