Prerequisites
Before installing SkillRise, ensure you have the following installed on your system:
Node.js 20+
Required for running both client and server
npm or yarn
Package manager for JavaScript dependencies
MongoDB
Local instance or MongoDB Atlas cluster
Git
For cloning the repository
Recommended Setup: Node.js 20.x LTS, npm 10.x, MongoDB 8.x or MongoDB Atlas free tier
Verification
Verify your Node.js and npm versions:
node --version
# Expected: v20.x.x or higher
npm --version
# Expected: 10.x.x or higher
Clone the Repository
Clone from GitHub
Clone the SkillRise repository to your local machine:git clone https://github.com/pv-pushkarverma/skillrise.git
cd skillrise
Cloning into 'skillrise'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 1247, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (1247/1247), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (892/892), done.
remote: Total 1247 (delta 678), reused 1104 (delta 589)
Receiving objects: 100% (1247/1247), 2.34 MiB | 5.21 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (678/678), done.
Verify project structure
Check that the repository was cloned successfully:You should see:client/
server/
docker-compose.yml
README.md
.github/
Install Dependencies
The client and server have separate package.json files. You must install dependencies for both.
Backend (Server)
Navigate to server directory
Install npm packages
This installs all dependencies including:
- express (v5.1.0) - Web framework
- mongoose (v8.13.2) - MongoDB ODM
- @clerk/express (v1.4.8) - Authentication
- cloudinary (v2.6.0) - Media uploads
- groq-sdk (v0.34.0) - AI chat
- razorpay (v2.9.6) - Payments
added 247 packages, and audited 248 packages in 12s
38 packages are looking for funding
run `npm fund` for details
found 0 vulnerabilities
Verify installation
Check that node_modules was created:ls -d node_modules
# Output: node_modules
Frontend (Client)
Navigate to client directory
Install npm packages
This installs all dependencies including:
- react (v19.0.0) - UI library
- react-router-dom (v7.5.1) - Routing
- @clerk/clerk-react (v5.28.2) - Auth UI
- axios (v1.8.4) - HTTP client
- tailwindcss (v3.4.17) - Styling
- vite (v6.3.1) - Build tool
added 312 packages, and audited 313 packages in 15s
102 packages are looking for funding
run `npm fund` for details
found 0 vulnerabilities
MongoDB Setup
Choose one of the following MongoDB setup options:
Use MongoDB Atlas (Free Cloud Database)
Configure network access
- Go to Network Access → Add IP Address
- Click Allow Access from Anywhere (0.0.0.0/0)
- Confirm
For production, restrict to specific IPs only
Create database user
- Go to Database Access → Add New Database User
- Choose Password authentication
- Username:
skillrise
- Generate a secure password
- Grant Read and write to any database permission
Get connection string
- Click Connect on your cluster
- Choose Connect your application
- Copy the connection string:
mongodb+srv://skillrise:<password>@cluster0.xxxxx.mongodb.net
- Replace
<password> with your database user password
Install MongoDB Locally
macOS
Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
Windows
# Import MongoDB GPG key
curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-8.0.asc | \
sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg
# Add MongoDB repository
echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu jammy/mongodb-org/8.0 multiverse" | \
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-8.0.list
# Install MongoDB
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org
# Start MongoDB
sudo systemctl start mongod
sudo systemctl enable mongod
# Verify
mongosh
- Download MongoDB Community Server from mongodb.com/try/download/community
- Run the installer (
.msi file)
- Choose Complete installation
- Install MongoDB as a Windows Service
- Open Command Prompt and verify:
Local MongoDB will be available at mongodb://localhost:27017
Third-Party Service Setup
SkillRise requires API keys from the following services:
Clerk
User authentication and webhooks
Razorpay
Payment processing for course purchases
Cloudinary
Media uploads (thumbnails, course content)
Groq
AI chatbot and roadmap generation
Verify Installation
Before proceeding to configuration, verify that all components are installed:
# Check Node.js
node --version
# Check npm packages (from server directory)
cd server && npm list --depth=0
# Check npm packages (from client directory)
cd ../client && npm list --depth=0
# Check MongoDB connection (if local)
mongosh --eval "db.version()"
Troubleshooting
npm install fails with permission errors
Solution: Avoid using sudo with npm. Instead, configure npm to use a different directory:mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
Error: The engine "node" is incompatible with this moduleSolution: Use nvm to install Node.js 20:nvm install 20
nvm use 20
node --version
MongoDB connection refused
For local MongoDB:# Check if MongoDB is running
sudo systemctl status mongod # Linux
brew services list # macOS
# Start MongoDB if stopped
sudo systemctl start mongod # Linux
brew services start [email protected] # macOS
Port 3000 or 5173 already in use
Error: EADDRINUSE: address already in use :::3000Solution: Find and kill the process using the port:# Find process on port 3000
lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9
# Or use a different port
PORT=4000 npm run server
Next Steps
Configuration
Set up environment variables and API keys
Docker Setup
Run SkillRise with Docker Compose
