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This guide walks you through setting up a local development environment for Rear JackMan.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:
  • Node.js (v18 or later recommended)
  • npm or pnpm or yarn
  • Wrangler CLI (CloudFlare Workers CLI)
  • A CloudFlare account with Workers and D1 access
Rear JackMan is built on CloudFlare Workers and D1. You’ll need a CloudFlare account to deploy and test the application.

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Installation steps

1

Clone the repository

Clone the Rear JackMan repository to your local machine:
git clone https://github.com/shalvah/rearjackman.git
cd rearjackman
2

Install dependencies

Install the project dependencies using npm:
npm install
This will install:
  • @cloudflare/workers-types - TypeScript types for CloudFlare Workers
  • typescript - TypeScript compiler
  • wrangler - CloudFlare Workers CLI
3

Configure Wrangler

Authenticate with CloudFlare:
npx wrangler login
This will open a browser window to authorize Wrangler with your CloudFlare account.
4

Create a D1 database

Create a new D1 database for local development:
npx wrangler d1 create rearjackman-dev
Update wrangler.toml with your database ID from the output.
5

Run database migrations

Apply the database schema migrations:
npx wrangler d1 migrations apply rearjackman-dev --local
This creates the tables defined in the migrations/ directory:
  • races - Race schedule and details
  • race_entries - Race results and driver performance
  • standings_snapshots - Championship standings before/after races
6

Configure environment variables

Create a .dev.vars file in the project root with your local development secrets:
SYNC_SECRET=dev-secret
Never commit .dev.vars to version control. It’s already included in .gitignore.
7

Start the development server

Run the local development server:
npm run dev
This starts Wrangler in development mode with hot reloading. The app will be available at http://localhost:8787.

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Available scripts

Rear JackMan includes the following npm scripts from package.json:
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dev
command
npm run dev
Starts the Wrangler development server with hot reloading at http://localhost:8787.
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build
command
npm run build
Type-checks the TypeScript code without emitting files. Useful for verifying types before deployment.
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deploy
command
npm run deploy
Deploys the application to CloudFlare Workers production environment.
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sync:local
command
npm run sync:local
Triggers a manual data sync for the 2026 season on your local development server. Requires the SYNC_SECRET header.Example:
curl "http://localhost:8787/api/sync/2026" -H "X-Sync-Secret: dev-secret"

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Verifying your setup

After completing the setup, verify everything is working:
  1. Check the home page: Visit http://localhost:8787 to see the season list
  2. Run a manual sync: Use npm run sync:local to fetch race data
  3. Browse a season: Visit http://localhost:8787/2026 to see races
  4. Check type safety: Run npm run build to verify TypeScript compilation
The first time you run the app, the database will be empty. Use the manual sync endpoint to populate it with race data from the Jolpica F1 API.

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Project structure

Here’s an overview of the key files and directories: 
rearjackman/
├── src/
│   ├── worker.ts          # Main worker entry point
│   ├── sync.ts            # Data synchronization logic
│   ├── types.ts           # TypeScript type definitions
│   ├── assets.ts          # Static assets (favicon)
│   └── ui/                # UI rendering
│       ├── render.ts      # Page render exports
│       ├── layout.ts      # HTML layout and utilities
│       ├── styles.ts      # CSS styles
│       ├── client.ts      # Client-side scripts
│       └── pages/         # Individual page renderers
├── migrations/            # D1 database migrations
├── wrangler.toml         # CloudFlare Workers configuration
├── package.json          # Dependencies and scripts
└── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript configuration

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Next steps

Architecture

Learn about the system architecture and data flows

Database schema

Explore the D1 database tables and relationships

Data sync

Understand how data is fetched and synchronized

CloudFlare Workers

Deploy your application to production

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