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⚡ Quick Start Guide (5 Minutes)

Get PASO running locally in minutes.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18+
  • npm 9+
  • MongoDB (or MongoDB Atlas cloud)
  • Redis (or Redis Cloud)

1. Clone & Navigate

git clone https://github.com/CodePlaygroundHub/paso-chat-app.git
cd paso-chat-app

2. Backend Setup (2 min)

cd backend
npm install

# Copy environment template
cp .env.example .env

# Start backend (leaves terminal running)
npm run dev

Expected output:

✅ Backend running on http://localhost:5001
✅ MongoDB connected
✅ Redis connected
✅ Socket.IO server ready

3. Frontend Setup (2 min)

New terminal:

cd frontend
npm install

# Copy environment template
cp .env.example .env

# Start frontend
npm run dev

Expected output:

✅ Frontend ready on http://localhost:5173
  ➜  Local:   http://localhost:5173/
  ➜  Network: [accessible from network]

4. Open Application

Open in browser: http://localhost:5173

5. Create Test Account

Email: test@test.com
Password: Test@1234
Name: Test User

✅ Success! You should see the chat interface.

6. Send Your First Message

  1. Sign up with the credentials above
  2. Go to sidebar → "New Chat"
  3. Create a new chat or group
  4. Type a message and press send
  5. Watch the message appear in real-time! 🎉

Quick Commands

# Run tests
npm test

# Check code style
npm run lint

# Build for production
npm run build

# View logs
npm run logs

Troubleshooting

"Cannot connect to MongoDB"

# Install MongoDB locally
brew install mongodb-community  # macOS
# Or use Docker
docker run -d -p 27017:27017 mongo:7

"Cannot connect to Redis"

# Install Redis locally
brew install redis  # macOS
# Or use Docker
docker run -d -p 6379:6379 redis:7-alpine

# Start Redis
redis-server

"Port 5001 already in use"

# Kill process on port 5001
lsof -ti:5001 | xargs kill -9  # macOS/Linux

# Windows
netstat -ano | findstr :5001
taskkill /PID <PID> /F

Clear cache and reinstall

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm cache clean --force
npm install

Next Steps

After successful setup:

  1. 📖 Read ARCHITECTURE.md — Understand how PASO works
  2. 👨‍💻 Read CONTRIBUTOR_ONBOARDING.md — Start contributing
  3. 🚀 Read DEPLOYMENT.md — Deploy to production
  4. 🔐 Read SECURITY_BEST_PRACTICES.md — Secure your setup

Ready to explore? 🚀
See [README.md](./README.md) for more information.