paperclip/doc/DEVELOPING.md

# Developing

This project can run fully in local dev without setting up PostgreSQL manually.

## Prerequisites

- Node.js 20+
- pnpm 9+

## Start Dev

From repo root:

```sh
pnpm install
pnpm dev
```

This starts:

- API server: `http://localhost:3100`
- UI: served by the API server in dev middleware mode (same origin as API)

## Database in Dev (Auto-Handled)

For local development, leave `DATABASE_URL` unset.
The server will automatically use embedded PostgreSQL and persist data at:

- `./data/embedded-postgres`

No Docker or external database is required for this mode.

## Quick Health Checks

In another terminal:

```sh
curl http://localhost:3100/api/health
curl http://localhost:3100/api/companies
```

Expected:

- `/api/health` returns `{"status":"ok"}`
- `/api/companies` returns a JSON array

## Reset Local Dev Database

To wipe local dev data and start fresh:

```sh
rm -rf server/data/embedded-postgres
pnpm dev
```

## Optional: Use External Postgres

If you set `DATABASE_URL`, the server will use that instead of embedded PostgreSQL.