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Skillhouse is a monorepo containing two independent applications: Backend/ (Express + Node.js) and Frontend/ (React + Vite). You run them as separate processes.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure the following are installed and running:
  • Node.js 18+ — required by both applications
  • MongoDB — the Backend connects on startup; the process exits if the connection fails
  • Redis — used for OTP storage and session management; defaults to 127.0.0.1:6379
  • Git

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Setup

1

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/omchaudhary007/SkillHouse.git
cd SkillHouse
2

Install Backend dependencies

cd Backend
npm install
3

Install Frontend dependencies

Open a second terminal and run:
cd Frontend
npm install
4

Configure environment variables

Create a .env file in each application directory. See Environment variables for the full list of required variables and example values.
# Backend/.env
PORT=3000
MONGODB_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/skillhouse
JWT_SECRET=...
REFRESH_SECRET=...
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:5173
# ... (see environment variables page for all required vars)

# Frontend/.env
VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:3000
VITE_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
VITE_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=...
5

Start MongoDB and Redis

Make sure both services are running before starting the Backend.
brew services start mongodb-community
brew services start redis
6

Start the Backend dev server

From the Backend/ directory:
npm run dev
The server starts with nodemon and reloads on file changes. You should see:
Server running on http://localhost:3000
MongoDB connected
Connected to Redis
7

Start the Frontend dev server

From the Frontend/ directory:
npm run dev
Vite starts the development server at http://localhost:5173 by default.
Run the Backend and Frontend dev servers in separate terminal windows or tabs so you can see logs from both simultaneously.

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Access the app

Once both servers are running, open your browser to:
ServiceURL
Frontendhttp://localhost:5173
Backend APIhttp://localhost:3000/api

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Production build

To build and run both applications in production mode:
1

Build the Backend

cd Backend
npm run build
npm start
npm run build compiles TypeScript to dist/. npm start runs the compiled output with node dist/index.js.
2

Build the Frontend

cd Frontend
npm run build
npm run build runs tsc -b && vite build and outputs static files to dist/. Serve this directory with any static host (e.g. Vercel, Nginx).
The Frontend includes a vercel.json with a catch-all rewrite rule so that React Router handles client-side navigation correctly when deployed to Vercel.

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