> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mylists.cc/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Developer Getting Started

# Developer Getting Started

Set up your local workstation to develop on the MTVL backend and frontend.

***

## Prerequisites

* **Go**: `1.24+` (Go 1.26 recommended)
* **Node.js**: `v20.0.0+`
* **npm**: `v10+`
* **PostgreSQL** or a **Neon Database** account (or local Docker container)

***

## 1. Setting Up the Backend (`mtvl`)

```bash theme={null}
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/mylists/mtvl.git
cd mtvl

# Download Go module dependencies
go mod download

# Run test suite to verify setup
go test -v ./...
```

### Environment Configuration

The backend supports the following environment variables:

| Variable               | Default          | Description                                         |
| :--------------------- | :--------------- | :-------------------------------------------------- |
| `SERVER_PORT`          | `8080`           | Port for the HTTP server                            |
| `DB_DRIVER`            | `postgres`       | Database driver (`postgres`, `mysql`, `sqlite3`)    |
| `DB_DSN`               | `postgres://...` | Database connection string                          |
| `JWT_SECRET`           | `secret`         | Secret key used to sign JWT tokens                  |
| `AUTH_PROVIDER_TYPE`   | `jwt`            | Auth engine: `jwt` or `external`                    |
| `CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS` | `*`              | Allowed CORS origins (e.g. `http://localhost:5173`) |

### Starting the Backend

```bash theme={null}
# Using local Postgres or Neon DSN
DB_DRIVER=postgres DB_DSN="postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/mtvl?sslmode=disable" go run main.go
```

The server automatically applies all pending Goose migrations upon startup.

***

## 2. Setting Up the Frontend (`mtvl-frontend`)

```bash theme={null}
# In a separate terminal
git clone https://github.com/mylists/mtvl-frontend.git
cd mtvl-frontend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start Vite development server
npm run dev
```

Visit `http://localhost:5173` in your browser. The frontend will proxy API requests to `http://localhost:8080`.