For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending .md to page URLs; this page is available as Markdown.

Setup

Requirements

Node.js 18+ (or 20+ recommended)
PostgreSQL database (local, Docker, or hosted e.g. Vercel Postgres, Neon, Supabase)
npm (or yarn/pnpm)

Optional for full functionality:

Stripe account and API key (for payment links)
Discord application (for Discord OAuth)
SMTP (e.g. Zoho) for password reset emails and sending alerts
Vercel Blob (only if you deploy on Vercel and want banner uploads to work, because the server filesystem is read-only there)

1. Download and install

Download the zip from BBB and install dependencies:

bash
npm install

2. Environment variables

Copy the example env file and fill in the values:

bash
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env. Minimum for local run:

DATABASE_URL – PostgreSQL connection string, e.g.
postgresql://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT/DATABASE?schema=public
For local Docker:
postgresql://postgres:yourpassword@localhost:5432/dashboard

Optional (see Environment Variables for full list):

APP_BASE_URL – Base URL of the app (e.g. http://localhost:3002). Used for password reset links and Discord redirect.
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY – For creating payment links in the Admin (Payments) section.
SMTP_* – For sending password reset emails; if not set, reset link is printed in the server console.
Discord – For “Login with Discord” (client id, secret, redirect URI).
BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN – Only needed on Vercel if you want user banner uploads (Vercel Blob).

3. Database

Create a PostgreSQL database (locally, Docker, or a cloud provider).

{% hint style="info" %} It is highly recommended to host your database with a cloud provider. A locally hosted database is typically suitable for testing purposes only. Please consider purchasing the Setup Add-on, which includes website hosting, database hosting, and environment configuration. {% endhint %}

Run Prisma migrations

Development (creates/updates migrations and applies them):

bash
npx prisma migrate dev

Production (only applies existing migrations):

bash
npx prisma migrate deploy

Generate Prisma Client (usually done by migrate dev or the build script):

bash
  npx prisma generate

(Optional) Open Prisma Studio to inspect data:

bash
npx prisma studio

4. Build (production)

Before running in production or deploying:

bash
npm run build

This will:

Run prisma generate
Compile TypeScript (tsc) to dist/
Copy images (if your script does that)
Build Tailwind CSS into public/tailwind.css

5. Run locally

Development (watch mode, no need to run build first):
```
bash
npm run dev
```
The server usually starts on a port defined in the code (e.g. 3002). Open http://localhost:3002 (or the port shown) and go to /login.html.
Production-like (after npm run build):
```
bash
npm start
```
This runs node dist/index.js.

6. First admin user

If there is no user in the database, register via the login page (email + username + password).
In the database (e.g. via Prisma Studio), set that user’s role to admin so they can access all sections and settings.
Alternatively, implement or run a seed script that creates an admin user (if you add one to the project).

After that, log in as admin and use Admin → Users (or the relevant page) to create or edit other users, assign roles, permissions, boards, and commissions.