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This guide walks you through setting up your local development environment to work with the ServITech Backend API.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:
  • Node.js & NPM - Required for frontend asset compilation
  • Git - For version control
  • A code editor - VS Code, PHPStorm, or your preferred IDE
  • MySQL (optional) - If not using SQLite

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Installing PHP and Composer

The ServITech Backend requires PHP 8.2 or higher and Composer for dependency management.
1

Install PHP and Composer

Choose the installation command for your operating system:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://php.new/install/mac/8.4)"
After installation completes, restart your terminal for changes to take effect.
2

Verify Installation

Confirm PHP and Composer are installed correctly:
php --version
composer --version
You should see PHP 8.2+ and Composer version information.

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Cloning the Repository

Clone the ServITech Backend repository and navigate to the project directory: 
git clone https://github.com/MOSHE9647/ServITech-Backend.git
cd ServITech-Backend

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Environment Configuration

1

Create Environment File

Copy the example environment file:
cp .env.example .env
On Windows without cp, manually create a .env file and copy the contents from .env.example.
2

Generate Application Key

Generate the Laravel application encryption key:
php artisan key:generate
This automatically updates the APP_KEY in your .env file.
3

Generate JWT Secret

Generate the JWT authentication secret:
php artisan jwt:secret
This adds the JWT_SECRET to your .env file for token-based authentication.

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Database Configuration

The application supports both SQLite (default) and MySQL.

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Key Environment Variables

Here are the most important variables to configure in your .env file:

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Application Settings

.env
APP_NAME=ServITech
APP_VERSION=1.0.0
APP_ENV=local
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_URL=http://localhost:8000

APP_LOCALE=es
APP_FALLBACK_LOCALE=en
APP_FAKER_LOCALE=es_ES

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Performance Settings

.env
PHP_CLI_SERVER_WORKERS=4
BCRYPT_ROUNDS=12
  • PHP_CLI_SERVER_WORKERS - Number of worker processes for the development server
  • BCRYPT_ROUNDS - Password hashing cost (higher = more secure but slower)

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Session Configuration

.env
SESSION_DRIVER=database
SESSION_LIFETIME=120
SESSION_ENCRYPT=false

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Queue and Cache

.env
QUEUE_CONNECTION=database
CACHE_STORE=database

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Mail Configuration

.env
MAIL_MAILER=log
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS="[email protected]"
MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"
In development, emails are logged to storage/logs/laravel.log by default. Configure SMTP settings for production.

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API Documentation

.env
SCRAMBLE_API_ROUTE=/docs/api
This configures the route where Scramble-generated API documentation will be available.

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Installing Dependencies

Install both PHP and Node.js dependencies: 
composer install
npm install
If composer install fails, try running composer update to resolve dependency conflicts.

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Troubleshooting

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PHP Extension Missing

Error: extension not found Solution: Install required PHP extensions: 
sudo apt-get install php8.2-xml php8.2-mbstring php8.2-curl php8.2-mysql php8.2-sqlite3

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Composer Memory Limit

Error: Allowed memory size exhausted Solution: Increase PHP memory limit: 
php -d memory_limit=-1 $(which composer) install

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Permission Issues (Linux/macOS)

Error: Permission denied when writing to storage/logs Solution: Set proper permissions: 
chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache
chown -R $USER:www-data storage bootstrap/cache

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Node.js Version Issues

Error: Unsupported Node.js version Solution: Use a Node version manager (nvm): 
# Install nvm (if not installed)
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

# Install and use LTS version
nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts

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Next Steps

Running Locally

Start the development server and all required services

Database Migrations

Set up your database schema and seed test data

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Additional Resources

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