Dev loop

In the dev loop the database runs in Docker, and the backend and frontend run on your machine.

One-off setup 

cp .env.example .env                 # pick your own POSTGRES_PASSWORD (git-ignored)
docker compose up -d db              # PostgreSQL 18 on 127.0.0.1:5432
cd backend
dotnet tool restore
dotnet user-secrets set "ConnectionStrings:Aide" "Host=localhost;Port=5432;Database=aide;Username=aide;Password=<POSTGRES_PASSWORD from .env>" --project src/Aide.Api
dotnet ef database update --project src/Aide.Infrastructure --startup-project src/Aide.Api
cd ../frontend && npm ci

Each session 

docker compose up -d db                                   # dev database (PostgreSQL 18, values from .env)
dotnet run --project backend/src/Aide.Api                 # http://localhost:5080
npm --prefix frontend run dev                             # http://localhost:3000 (proxies /api + WebSockets → BACKEND_URL, default 5080)
What URL
App (use this one) http://localhost:3000
API http://localhost:5080
Database localhost:5432

Open the app at http://localhost:3000. It proxies /api and the live-update WebSocket to the backend.

Seed data

The Development environment enables the seed. On first start it creates the Admin admin@aide.local, the project “Demo: Todo API” (Fake provider, Local Git, released at 0.1.0, so you can try “Start new version” at once) and “Demo: Recipe Finder” (a migrated v2 preset project, in planning), plus “Demo: Vue Notes” (Vue + Supabase BaaS, in specification). A v1 database keeps its demo project, and an untouched one is upgraded to a released 0.1.0. The generated password is logged once at Warning in the dotnet run console. Look for Seeded admin admin@aide.local with password .... If you missed it, sign in with another account (the first registered user is Admin) or reset the database volume.

Change the schema

New migration: dotnet ef migrations add <Name> --project src/Aide.Infrastructure --startup-project src/Aide.Api (from backend/). Never edit a committed migration.

If you used the dev loop before the move to PostgreSQL 18, docker compose up now starts on a new, empty volume. See Upgrade local data from PostgreSQL 17 to 18.

Next steps