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This guide walks you through setting up your local development environment for the POS Nest API project.

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Prerequisites

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Node.js and npm

The POS Nest API requires Node.js and npm to be installed on your system.
1

Check Node.js version

Verify you have Node.js installed (v18 or higher recommended):
node --version
npm --version
2

Install Node.js (if needed)

If you don’t have Node.js installed, download it from nodejs.org or use a version manager like nvm:
# Using nvm
nvm install 18
nvm use 18

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PostgreSQL

The API uses PostgreSQL as its database.
1

Install PostgreSQL

Download and install PostgreSQL from postgresql.org or use your system’s package manager:
# macOS (using Homebrew)
brew install postgresql@15
brew services start postgresql@15

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib
sudo systemctl start postgresql

# Windows
# Download installer from postgresql.org
2

Verify PostgreSQL installation

psql --version
Alternatively, you can use a cloud PostgreSQL service like Supabase, AWS RDS, or Heroku Postgres instead of installing locally.

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Supabase Account

This API uses Supabase for authentication.
1

Create a Supabase account

Go to supabase.com and sign up for a free account.
2

Create a new project

  • Click “New Project”
  • Choose your organization
  • Enter a project name
  • Set a strong database password
  • Select a region close to you
  • Click “Create new project”
3

Get your credentials

Once your project is created:
  • Go to Project Settings > API
  • Copy your URL and service_role key (you’ll need these for environment variables)
The service_role key bypasses Row Level Security. Keep it secret and never expose it in client-side code or public repositories.

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Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root of your project with the following variables: 
# Server Configuration
PORT=3000

# Database Configuration
DATABASE_HOST=localhost
DATABASE_PORT=5432
DATABASE_USER=postgres
DATABASE_PASS=your_database_password
DATABASE_NAME=pos_nest_db

# Supabase Configuration
SUPABASE_URL=https://your-project.supabase.co
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your-service-role-key

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Environment Variable Reference

VariableDescriptionRequiredExample
PORTPort number for the API serverNo (defaults to 3000)3000
DATABASE_HOSTPostgreSQL host addressYeslocalhost
DATABASE_PORTPostgreSQL port numberYes5432
DATABASE_USERPostgreSQL usernameYespostgres
DATABASE_PASSPostgreSQL passwordYesmypassword
DATABASE_NAMEPostgreSQL database nameYespos_nest_db
SUPABASE_URLYour Supabase project URLYeshttps://xxx.supabase.co
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEYSupabase service role keyYeseyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6...
All environment variables are loaded using @nestjs/config which is configured as a global module in the application.

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Development vs Production Configuration

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Development Environment

For local development, use the .env file with local database credentials: 
# Development .env
PORT=3000
DATABASE_HOST=localhost
DATABASE_PORT=5432
DATABASE_USER=postgres
DATABASE_PASS=postgres
DATABASE_NAME=pos_nest_dev
SUPABASE_URL=https://your-project.supabase.co
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your-dev-service-role-key

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Production Environment

For production, set environment variables through your hosting platform (Heroku, AWS, etc.) rather than using a .env file: 
# Production environment variables
PORT=3000
DATABASE_HOST=your-production-db-host.com
DATABASE_PORT=5432
DATABASE_USER=prod_user
DATABASE_PASS=strong_production_password
DATABASE_NAME=pos_nest_prod
SUPABASE_URL=https://your-prod-project.supabase.co
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your-prod-service-role-key
  • Never commit .env files to version control
  • Use strong, unique passwords for production databases
  • Consider using managed database services for production
  • The application uses SSL for database connections with rejectUnauthorized: false - consider enabling strict SSL verification in production

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Installing Dependencies

Once you have Node.js installed and environment variables configured:
1

Clone the repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd pos-nest
2

Install dependencies

npm install
This will install all dependencies listed in package.json, including:
  • NestJS framework (@nestjs/core, @nestjs/common)
  • TypeORM and PostgreSQL driver (typeorm, pg)
  • Supabase client (@supabase/supabase-js)
  • Validation libraries (class-validator, class-transformer)
3

Verify installation

npm run build
This compiles the TypeScript code and verifies everything is set up correctly.

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Verify Your Setup

Check that everything is configured correctly: 
# Check Node.js
node --version  # Should be v18+

# Check npm
npm --version

# Check PostgreSQL
psql --version

# Verify .env file exists
ls -la .env

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

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Next Steps

Database Setup

Learn how to create and configure your PostgreSQL database

API Reference

Start exploring the API endpoints

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