Getting Started¶

This guide will help you get started with the AI Engineering MVP Template.

Prerequisites¶

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed:

Docker & Docker Compose (v20.10.0+)
Python (3.12+)
Node.js (18.0.0+)
uv for Python package management

Using This Template¶

1. Create a New Repository¶

Start by clicking the "Use this template" button at the top of the repository page on GitHub. This will create a new repository with all the template files.

2. Clone Your New Repository¶

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-new-repo.git
cd your-new-repo

3. Configure Environment Variables¶

Copy the example environment file and customize it for your project:

cp .env.example .env.development

Edit the .env.development file to set your project-specific values.

4. Start Development Services¶

The easiest way to start development is with Docker Compose:

docker compose --env-file .env.development -f docker-compose.dev.yml up

This will start both the frontend and backend services in development mode with hot reloading.

5. Access the Services¶

Frontend: http://localhost:3000
Backend API: http://localhost:8000
API Documentation: http://localhost:8000/docs

Development Without Docker¶

If you prefer to run the services directly on your machine:

Frontend¶

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Backend¶

cd backend
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"
uvicorn api.main:app --reload

Next Steps¶

Once you have the template set up, you can start customizing it for your specific application needs:

Update the README.md with your project information
Customize the frontend UI components
Add your business logic to the backend services
Set up your CI/CD pipeline

See the Backend Development and Frontend Development guides for more details.