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Set Up Environment

This guide explains how to set up a local development environment for PLANKA using either a traditional Node.js setup or Docker-based approach.

Cloning the Repository​

Start by cloning the PLANKA repository and installing dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/plankanban/planka.git
cd planka
npm install

Traditional Development Setup​

Configuring Environment Variables​

Create a .env file in the server/ directory based on the sample:

cp server/.env.sample server/.env

Edit server/.env:

  • Set DATABASE_URL to your local database instance.
  • Optionally configure DEFAULT_ADMIN_* variables to define an initial admin user.

Initializing the Database​

Run the following command to initialize the database:

npm run server:db:init

Starting the Development Server​

To launch both the frontend and backend in development mode:

npm start

Docker-Based Development Setup​

This setup uses Docker Compose to run all services (client, server, database) and auto-reloads on file changes.

Start the Full Stack Dev Environment​

docker-compose -f docker-compose-dev.yml up

This will build and start all required services in development mode.

Environment Variables​

Make sure the following environment variables are defined:

DEFAULT_ADMIN_EMAIL=demo@demo.demo
DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD=demo
DEFAULT_ADMIN_NAME=Demo Demo
DEFAULT_ADMIN_USERNAME=demo

Access PLANKA​

Once started, access PLANKA in your browser at http://localhost:3000.