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🚀 START HERE - Quick Setup Guide

You're 3 Steps Away from Running TaskStars!

Step 1️⃣: Create Your Environment Files

Run this command from the project root:

npm run setup

This creates:

  • server/.env.local
  • client/.env.local

Step 2️⃣: Edit Your Environment Files

Edit server/.env.local

Open the file and replace the placeholder values:

# Minimum required for local development:

NODE_ENV=development
PORT=8080
MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/taskstars
JWT_SECRET=any-random-string-for-development
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000
SERVER_URL=http://localhost:8080

# Optional (for OAuth features):
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your-google-client-secret
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your-github-client-id
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your-github-client-secret

# Optional (for AI features):
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-key

Don't have MongoDB installed?

  • Install locally: brew install mongodb-community (Mac)
  • Or use MongoDB Atlas (free cloud)

Edit client/.env.local

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:8080
NEXT_PUBLIC_SOCKET_URL=http://localhost:8080

Step 3️⃣: Run the App!

npm run dev

Visit: http://localhost:3000 🎉

✅ That's It!

Your app is now running with proper environment configuration.

What Just Happened?

  • ✅ All hardcoded URLs removed
  • ✅ Environment-based configuration enabled
  • ✅ Easy switching between dev and production
  • ✅ Secrets kept safe in .env files
  • ✅ 13 client files updated
  • ✅ 4 server files updated

Common First-Time Issues

"Cannot connect to MongoDB"

Solution: Install and start MongoDB:

brew services start mongodb-community

"OAuth not working"

Solution: OAuth features are optional. The app works without them! To enable:

  1. Create Google/GitHub OAuth apps
  2. Add credentials to .env.local
  3. See ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md for detailed steps

"Port already in use"

Solution: Change the port in server/.env.local:

PORT=3001  # or any available port

Next Steps

Want OAuth? Set it up:

  1. Google OAuth Setup
  2. GitHub OAuth Setup
  3. See ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md for step-by-step guide

Want to Deploy?

  1. Create server/.env.production and client/.env.production
  2. Use your production URLs
  3. See SETUP_SUMMARY.md for production setup

Want to Understand How It Works?

  • See HOW_IT_WORKS.md for architecture diagram
  • See QUICK_REFERENCE.md for command cheat sheet

Available Commands

Command What it does
npm run dev Start development mode
npm run build Build for production
npm start Run production mode
npm run setup Create env files from templates

📚 Documentation Index

  1. START_HERE.md ← You are here! Quick setup
  2. QUICK_REFERENCE.md - Command cheat sheet
  3. SETUP_SUMMARY.md - What was changed
  4. ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md - Complete documentation
  5. HOW_IT_WORKS.md - Architecture and flow

Need Help?

If something's not working:

  1. Check that .env.local files exist in both server/ and client/
  2. Verify MongoDB is running (if using local)
  3. Restart the app: Stop with Ctrl+C, then npm run dev again
  4. Check the console for error messages

Files You Need to Create (not tracked by git)

TaskStars/
├── server/
│   ├── .env.local          ← YOU CREATE THIS
│   └── .env.production     ← CREATE LATER FOR PRODUCTION
└── client/
    ├── .env.local          ← YOU CREATE THIS
    └── .env.production     ← CREATE LATER FOR PRODUCTION

These files are in .gitignore - they won't be committed to git (that's good! keeps secrets safe)

Quick Test

After setup, verify everything works:

# Terminal 1: Check server started
# Should see: "Server running on port 8080"
# Should see: "MongoDB Connected"

# Terminal 2: Open browser
# Visit: http://localhost:3000
# Should see: TaskStars app loading

🎉 Success!

If you see the app at http://localhost:3000, you're all set!

Now you can:

  • ✅ Develop locally
  • ✅ Switch to production easily
  • ✅ Keep credentials safe
  • ✅ Share code without exposing secrets

Happy coding! 🚀

One More Thing...

Don't forget to:

  • Create your .env.local files (Step 2)
  • Start MongoDB (if using local)
  • Add real credentials for features you want
  • Never commit .env files to git
  • Use different secrets for dev vs production

Questions? Check the other docs in this folder! 📖