# Starter Kit does not load images or other urls

**URL:** <https://forum.getkirby.com/t/starter-kit-does-not-load-images-or-other-urls/22484>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Tags:** v3\
**Created:** [June 2, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/starter-kit-does-not-load-images-or-other-urls/22484 "2021-06-02T17:33:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![anthony.elliott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@anthony.elliott](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/anthony.elliott)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/starter-kit-does-not-load-images-or-other-urls/22484/1 "2021-06-02T17:33:19Z")

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Hi, I’m having a problem getting the Kirby Starter Kit fully running. I am able to serve it up and see a page at `localhost` but none of the images load. I also can’t load any other url like `localhost/panel/installation` . I’m using Ubuntu 20 on my development machine and Apache2 for a server. All I’ve done here is download the zip, move it to `/var/www/starterkit-main` , and set the DocumentRoot to be that directory.

When I go to localhost, i get a 200 back and some content loads. When I go to localhost/panel/installation, I get a 404 Not Found.  
I do have the .htaccess file included in the starter kit zip.

I did try setting permissions to 777 on /var/www/starterkit-main to see if that was the problem, but still no luck.

I assume I am missing something obvious, but I’ve read through [How to Install Kirby CMS On Ubuntu 18.04 - RoseHosting](https://www.rosehosting.com/blog/how-to-install-kirby-cms-on-ubuntu-18-04/) as well as looked through docs on kirby and still no luck.

 ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/uploads/getkirby/original/2X/5/5b0541741a6f639a12a92117e4ff60d3ace61f8f.png)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/starter-kit-does-not-load-images-or-other-urls/22484/2 "2021-06-02T19:21:50Z")

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Did you upload the `.htaccess` file? If yes, make sure that `.htaccess` overrides are allowed on your server and that rewriting is enabled.

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**Author:** ![anthony.elliott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@anthony.elliott](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/anthony.elliott)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/starter-kit-does-not-load-images-or-other-urls/22484/3 "2021-06-02T21:38:40Z")

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Thanks for the help @texnixe! The .htaccess file was there, but I needed to enable url rewriting for apache.

I followed this for Ubuntu: [How to set up URL rewriting in Apache on Ubuntu? - LinuxForDevices](https://www.linuxfordevices.com/tutorials/linux/url-rewriting-in-apache)

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**Author:** ![Anke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58f4c7/32.png) [@Anke](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/Anke)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 11:06am UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/starter-kit-does-not-load-images-or-other-urls/22484/4 "2025-12-02T11:06:13Z")

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Hi y’all,

I installed Kirby 5 Starter Kit on XamppLite. The .htaccess file is there and AllowOverride All is active. Yet on the home page and the Notes page there are only black placeholders where the photos ought to be. However, in lightbox they are displayed. The only picture that’s visible is the one on the About page. Any ideas?

Anke

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/starter-kit-does-not-load-images-or-other-urls/22484/5 "2025-12-02T13:21:19Z")

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Both the lightbox as well as the top image on the about page use the full image, whereas everywhere else thumbs are used.

I’m not familiar with XamppLite at all. But for thumbs to work, you need either the gd library to be installed and enabled, oe ImageMagick needs to be present, see requirements: [Quickstart | Kirby CMS](https://getkirby.com/docs/guide/quickstart#requirements).

This is what Chatgpt “said”:

> **Summary**
>
> Enabling **GD (GD2) library** in **XAMPP Lite** is simple. Here’s how to do it:
> 
> * * *
> 
> ## ✅ **How to Enable GD in XAMPP Lite**
> 
> ### **1. Open your `php.ini` file**
> 
> In XAMPP Lite, the file is usually located at:
> 
> ```auto
> \xampplite\apache\bin\php.ini
> 
> ```
> 
> or sometimes:
> 
> ```auto
> \xampplite\php\php.ini
> 
> ```
> 
> * * *
> 
> ### **2. Find the GD extension line**
> 
> Search for:
> 
> ```auto
> ;extension=gd2
> 
> ```
> 
> * * *
> 
> ### **3. Enable the extension**
> 
> Remove the leading semicolon `;` so it becomes:
> 
> ```auto
> extension=gd2
> 
> ```
> 
> If you also see:
> 
> ```auto
> ;extension=php_gd2.dll
> 
> ```
> 
> uncomment it the same way:
> 
> ```auto
> extension=php_gd2.dll
> 
> ```
> 
> * * *
> 
> ### **4. Save the file**
> 
> * * *
> 
> ### **5. Restart Apache**
> 
> You must restart Apache for the change to take effect.
> 
> In XAMPP Control Panel:
> 
> - Stop **Apache**
> - Start **Apache** again
> 
> * * *
> 
> ### **6. Verify GD is enabled**
> 
> Create a `phpinfo()` file:
> 
> ```php
> <?php phpinfo(); ?>
> 
> ```
> 
> Open it in your browser and look for a **GD section**.
> 
> You should see something like:
> 
> ```auto
> GD Support => enabled
> GD Version => bundled (2.x.x)
> 
> ```
> 
> * * *