> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cuesoft.gitbook.io/expendit/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cuesoft.gitbook.io/expendit/setup.md).

# Setup

## Prerequisites

* [Docker](https://www.docker.com/) & Docker Compose (recommended path)
* For native development: [Go](https://go.dev/) 1.25+ (`api/common`), [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) 20+ (`web`), [MongoDB](https://www.mongodb.com/), and [Redis](https://redis.io/) (optional — rate limiting falls back to in-memory)

## Configuration

Each service ships an `.env.example`; copy it and fill in real values. Never commit real `.env` files — `make up` reads the root `.env`.

### Backend (`api/common`)

| Variable                                                  | Description                          |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| `PORT`                                                    | API port (default `8080`)            |
| `MONGODB_URL`                                             | MongoDB connection string            |
| `JWT_SECRET`                                              | Secret used to sign JWTs             |
| `EMAIL_FROM`                                              | From address for outbound email      |
| `SMTP_HOST` / `SMTP_USER` / `SMTP_PASSWORD` / `SMTP_PORT` | SMTP credentials                     |
| `GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID`                                        | Google OAuth client ID               |
| `GEMINI_API_KEY`                                          | Google Gemini API key (AI summaries) |
| `GROQ_API_KEY`                                            | Groq API key (AI categorization)     |
| `REDIS_URL`                                               | Redis connection string (optional)   |
| `FRONTEND_URL`                                            | Web app URL for CORS/redirects       |

## Quick start (Docker)

```bash
cp .env.example .env
make up        # build + start mongo, redis, api-common (:8080), web (:3000)
make logs      # follow logs
make down      # stop and remove
```

* API: <http://localhost:8080> — health `/health`, readiness `/ready`
* Web: <http://localhost:3000>

## Running natively (without Docker)

Start MongoDB and Redis (e.g. `docker run -d -p 27017:27017 mongo:7` and `docker run -d -p 6379:6379 redis:7`), then:

```bash
# Backend — listens on :8080 (override with PORT)
cd api/common && go run ./cmd/server

# Web
cd web && npm install && npm run dev
```


---

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