Data Storage:

• PostgreSQL Database
• Redis (used by celery and directus)
• S3 Compatible Object Storage (used for user assets)

Service:

• Directus (CMS, Auth Server)
• Python FastAPI Backend (AI APIs, chat, library, transcription etc)

Clients:

• React Frontends (Admin Dashboard and Participants' Portal, used Directus / Python)

Dembrane is a application with multiple services and dependencies.

The following guide is to run the whole application locally. it is HIGHLY recommended to use dev containers for development to properly configure and manage these services and dependencies.

TIP: If you only want to run the frontend, you can use the frontend_getting_started.md.

TIP: Running into any issues? Are you using Windows? Check the FAQs or troubleshooting section at the end of this doc and search through the issues tab.

• VS Code (or Cursor) with "Dev Containers" Extension installed
• Docker Desktop
• WSL (recommended if you are on Windows)

1. Open the /echo/echo folder in a Dev Container

   • Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette.
   • Type "Dev Containers: Open Folder in Container" (or "Reopen in Container").
   • Create .envs touch server/.env && touch directus/.env
   • Choose the /echo/echo folder (this is the folder containing the .devcontainer/ folder)
   • Wait for the containers to build. This will take a few minutes.

2. This installs the following:

   • Devcontainer with pnpm, uv installed and configured (see devcontainer.json for more context)
   • Postgres database running and exposed on port 5432
   • Redis instance
   • Directus server running and exposed on port 8055

3. For your S3-compatible storage you can either

   • bring your own S3 backend
   • or use the .devcontainer/docker-compose-s3.yml file to spin up a Minio server exposed on port 9001.

   In both cases you need to configure in server/.env and directus/.env. We are working on providing an configurable alternative to store files via local storage instead of S3. PRs are welcome to make this flow better.

4. Configure .env files

   • Most .env variables are already setup through the devcontainer.
   • You can override any of them by setting the corresponding environment variable in the .env file, you can see what variables are needed in the .env.sample files.
   • For the server: update server/.env
   • For the frontends: update frontend/.env
   • For directus, update directus/.env (For directus, you might need to restart your docker container to load the keys)

5. Run the database migrations

6. (Optional) Use the "Terminal Keeper" Extension for opening the relevant terminals from the container. (see .vscode/sesssions.json for the exact commands run when the terminals are opened)

   • Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette.
   • Type "Active session".
   • Click "Terminal Keeper: Active session".

• Check this file for common queries while developing, before raising a request.

Enjoy building with Dembrane!