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Quick Start

This guide will walk you through setting up and running the starter app on your local machine.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

  • Node.js and npm: Required for the frontend. Download Node.js
  • Python: Required for the backend.
  • uv: Recommended for Python package management. Install uv
  • Docker: Required for running a local PostgreSQL database.

1. Create Your Project​

Use Copier to create a new project from the starter app template. You'll be prompted to choose which features to include.

uvx copier copy git@github.com:mistralai/starter-app.git your_project_name
cd your_project_name

2. Set Up Environment Variables​

The backend requires environment variables for configuration. An example file is provided.

# Copy the example .env file
cp back/.env.example back/.env

# Open back/.env and fill in the required values

3. Install Backend Dependencies​

Use uv to install the Python dependencies for the backend.

uv sync --directory back

4. Install Frontend Dependencies​

Use npm to install the necessary packages for the frontend.

npm install --prefix front

5. Set Up the Local Database​

A Docker Compose file is included to easily run a local PostgreSQL database with the pgvector extension for embeddings.

  1. Start the database container:

    docker-compose -p pg-demo -f back/docker/docker-compose.yml up -d

    This command starts a PostgreSQL server in the background.

  2. Run database migrations: This script waits for the database to be ready and then applies the first Alembic migration initialize your database.

    bash scripts/init_database.sh

6. Run the Application​

The start_all.sh script launches the backend, frontend, and a Abraxas worker (if enabled).

bash scripts/start_all.sh

You should now have:

  • The Backend API running at http://localhost:8000
  • The Frontend Application running at http://localhost:3000
Example with border

Your development environment is now ready!