Installation and Local Run

This guide takes you from the source you downloaded to the whole community running on your own computer. You get the backend, the web app, the admin tools, and sample content to click around. Nothing here touches a live server or costs anything, so it is the safe place to learn the platform before you deploy to production.

Your download also ships a complete SETUP/ handbook inside the project folder, with numbered chapters that walk the whole path from prerequisites to launch day. This page is the condensed version.

The Guided Path (Recommended)#

From the project folder in a terminal, run the setup companion.

npx pnpm run setup

That launches Buzz, the Seedly Communities setup companion, who walks you through setup one small step at a time and checks your work as you go. If you would rather be led than read, run that command and follow along.

Buzz leans on a few commands you can also run yourself at any time.

What You Are Standing Up#

Seedly Communities has two halves that run together.

• The backend. This is the data and real-time engine behind the feed, chat, classroom, events, live streaming, and gamification modules. It runs on Convex Cloud in production and against a personal Convex development deployment locally.
• The web app. This is the branded community interface your members and admins use. It runs on Vercel in production and as a local dev server during development.

You will start both, point the web app at the backend, and open the site in a browser. This is the same shape as going live, just on your machine.

Prerequisites#

Install these once per computer.

Node#

Node runs the platform's code. Install the current LTS release from nodejs.org with the defaults, then confirm it.

node --version

You want a recent LTS major version as the first number.

pnpm#

The project installs and runs its building blocks with pnpm. You do not install it separately. The project reaches it through npx, which comes with Node, so wherever you see npx pnpm ..., that is pnpm. Confirm it responds (answer y if it offers to download).

npx pnpm --version

A Convex account#

The backend runs on Convex Cloud. Create a free account at convex.dev. The command line tool signs you in from the terminal the first time you run it, so there is nothing to configure by hand yet.

A Vercel account#

The web app deploys to Vercel. Create a free account at vercel.com. You do not need it for the local run, but setting it up now saves a step when you go live.

Git#

Git tracks your copy of the source and is how you pull future updates. On a Mac run xcode-select --install. On Windows install from git-scm.com with the defaults.

Get the Source#

Your purchase email links to a download of the complete source. Unzip it, or if you were given a repository, clone it. Then point your terminal at the project folder.

cd path/to/community-platform

On most systems you can type cd with a trailing space, drag the unzipped folder onto the terminal window, and press Enter.

Install Dependencies#

From the project folder, install the building blocks.

npx pnpm install

Text scrolls by for a minute or two. It is done when you can type again.

Configure Your Local Environment#

The project ships an example environment file that lists every setting by name with blanks for the values. Copy it to a real local environment file and fill in what a local run needs, then run npx pnpm run gen:secrets to mint the platform's own secrets. The setup documentation names exactly which values are required to boot.

Each value is named for what it is for, never the value itself. The full purpose-only reference is on the Environment and Configuration page. Keep every secret out of Git and in a password manager.

Start the Backend#

Start the backend against a Convex development deployment. The command line tool signs you in the first time and creates a personal development deployment for you.

npx convex dev

Leave this running in its own terminal window. It watches your backend code, pushes changes as you edit, and prints the development backend URL the web app will talk to. Copy that URL into the matching backend-URL setting in your local environment file if the setup documentation asks you to.

Seed Sample Data#

So the community is not an empty shell on first load, the project includes a seed step that fills a local database with sample members, posts, a course, and events. Run the seed command named in your setup documentation from the project folder while the backend is running.

Seeding is meant for local and throwaway demo use so you have something to click. Never run the demo seed against a live production backend that already has real members.

Start the Web App#

In a second terminal window, from the project folder, start the web app dev server.

npx pnpm dev

This serves the community interface locally, usually at http://localhost:3000. Leave it running. Closing the window stops the server.

Create Your First Admin and Look Around#

The supported way to mint the first owner account is the provisioner. Run it against your development deployment.

npx pnpm run provision

Then open the local address the web app printed, sign in with the owner email you just created, and explore.

• Open the feed and read the seeded posts, then write one of your own.
• Open the classroom and step through the sample course lessons.
• Open the events calendar and the chat panel.
• Open the admin area to see branding, moderation, and settings.

This is the whole platform, running entirely on your computer.

First-Run Expectations#

• The first backend start is the slowest. Signing in, creating your development deployment, and the first push take a little longer than every start after.
• Some modules stay quiet until you connect a service. Paid tiers need Stripe, outbound email needs an email provider, and live streaming needs a real-time video provider. Locally, features that depend on an unconnected service stay inactive rather than erroring, so you can explore everything else first.
• Two terminals stay open. One runs the backend, one runs the web app. Stopping either stops that half. Press Ctrl and C in a window to stop it, and rerun the command to start it again.

What Just Happened#

You proved the full path works locally. The backend holds the community data, the web app renders and edits it, and the modules behave against real sample content. Going live is the same thing on your own Convex and Vercel accounts, with your own domain, which is the Deploying to Production guide.

If You Get Stuck#

1. Run the doctor, npx pnpm run setup:check. It names what is wrong in plain English.
2. Re-read the SETUP/ handbook in your download. It is written to be followed in order and names the exact scripts for your version.
3. Confirm both terminals are still running and neither printed an error on start.
4. Ask in the Seedly community group on Facebook, where operators and the Seedly team both help.

Next, walk the Deploying to Production guide, or review the whole module list first.