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Manual Installation Guide

This guide explains how to set up TestPlanIt for local development manually, without using Docker.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

  • Node.js (v20.18.3 recommended)
  • pnpm (version 10+ recommended)
  • A running PostgreSQL database instance
  • Git
  • A running Valkey instance (Redis-compatible, for background job processing)
Use Node v20.18.3

zenstack sometimes gives an error ⨯ Error: Generated "enhance" function not found. Please run `zenstack generate` first. with some versions of node using turbopack. You can either use dev mode without turbopack or stick to a known good node version like v20.18.3.

Installation & Setup Steps​

  1. Clone the repository: Open your terminal and clone the TestPlanIt monorepo:

    git clone https://github.com/testplanit/testplanit.git
    cd testplanit

  2. Install dependencies: Run the installation command from the monorepo root directory (testplanit/):

    pnpm install

    This installs dependencies for all packages in the monorepo.

  3. Set up environment variables: Navigate into the TestPlanIt application directory (testplanit/testplanit) and copy the example environment file:

    cd testplanit
    cp .env.example .env
    • Edit the newly created .env file. The most crucial setting is DATABASE_URL. Update this value to point to your locally running PostgreSQL instance.
    • Add the Valkey URL: Add VALKEY_URL="valkey://localhost:6379" (or the appropriate URL if your Valkey instance is running elsewhere or requires authentication) to the file. This is needed for background job processing.
    • Review other settings like NEXTAUTH_SECRET (generate a new secret if needed), email server details (required for Magic Link authentication and notifications), etc., and configure them according to your needs.
    • Admin User Seeding: The ADMIN_EMAIL, ADMIN_NAME, and ADMIN_PASSWORD variables are used by the pnpm prisma db seed command to create the initial administrator user. You can customize these values in your .env file if you prefer different default credentials.

  4. Run database migrations: Navigate back into the application directory (testplanit/testplanit) and run the Prisma migrations to create the necessary database tables:

    cd testplanit # Ensure you are in the testplanit/testplanit directory
    pnpm prisma migrate dev

  5. Run the development server: Still within the testplanit/testplanit directory, start the Next.js development server:

    pnpm dev

  6. Access TestPlanIt: Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000. You should see the TestPlanIt application.

You are now ready to start using TestPlanIt locally!