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Prerequisites

Before cloning the repository make sure the following tools are installed:

  • Node.js 20.18+ – aligns with the runtime requirements. Use nvm/fnm to switch versions if needed.
  • Yarn (via Corepack) – enable it once per machine: 
    corepack enable
    corepack prepare yarn@stable --activate
  • Docker & Docker Compose – required for running PostgreSQL with pgvector and Redis.
  • OpenSSL – handy for generating random secrets while configuring .env.

Copy .env.example to .env and configure at least:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/open-mercato
JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

The pgvector extension is automatically installed in all databases, enabling vector search features out of the box.

Need a refresher on what each environment toggle controls? Review the System status variables directory for descriptions and defaults before you customize additional flags.

The docs site you are reading lives in /docs and has its own dependencies. Install them independently (pnpm install or npm install) when you want to build or preview the documentation.