API server

This file contains instructions for running the API server for development purposes only. See the backend README for instructions for running a production/testing instance.

Running the server

Create a .env file containing something like the following:

API_HOST=127.0.0.1
API_PORT=3000
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
# and so on

... as specified in the .env.template file.

Note that you must use 127.0.0.1 and not localhost as the database host if you run it in a Docker container.

Depending on where you run the app, you may need to change the PHOTO_URL variable to match the IP the app makes contact with.

Run npm install to install dependencies, then run npm start to start the API server. Make sure that your database is running, otherwise the API server will crash after 10 unsuccessful connection attempts.

Running the tests

Run npm test after setting up the server.

Generating documentation

Simply run npm run docs and open docs/index.html in a browser to read it.