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Starting Study Compass

Cloning the Repository​

First, clone the repository to your local machine:

git clone git@github.com:Study-Compass/Study-Compass.git
cd Study-Compass

Installing Dependencies​

Our project has dependencies for both the frontend and backend. You need to install these separately. Navigate to each directory and install the required packages.

  1. Root Directory Installation

    This will install any utilities and dependencies defined at the project level, such as Concurrently.

    npm install

  2. Frontend Installation

    cd frontend
    npm install

  3. Backend Installation

    cd ../backend
    npm install

Running the Application​

Before starting the application, make sure your local MongoDB is running. To do this, open powershell and run the following command:

mongod

If there are no errors, the terminal session will not terminate. Once Mongo is running, you can start the application.

note

Make sure the .env file is placed in the backend directory, or else the application will not start

We use Concurrently to run our frontend and backend servers at the same time. You can start both with a single command:

npm start

This command is configured in the root package.json file and will launch both servers simultaneously. By default, the React application runs on localhost:3000 and the Express server on localhost:5001.

Exploring the Application​

After starting the application, you can access:

Feel free to explore the API routes defined in the Express application and interact with the React frontend.

Next Steps​

Now that your environment is set up, you're ready to start developing! Here are a few suggestions for next steps:

  • Explore the documentation for both the frontend and backend directories and components for more detailed information on the specifics of each part of the stack.
  • Review the existing components and routes to get a feel for the application structure.
  • Begin adding new features or modifying existing ones.