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Project Setup

After this guide you'll understand what init.py configured, where configuration lives, and how to onboard a teammate.

What init.py does

You run init.py once during Quick Start. It:

  • prompts for your app name, mode (b2c / b2b), and database;
  • generates the .env files across backend/, frontend/, landing/, and backend/db/;
  • starts Docker PostgreSQL and runs migrations (with seed data);
  • installs backend (uv) and frontend/landing (npm) dependencies;
  • generates the type-safe API client (see Type-Safe API Client).

Pass --dry-run to preview without making changes. In development the email provider defaults to stub, so nothing is sent — verification and invitation links appear as [STUB EMAIL] blocks in the backend logs (see Transactional Email). Once setup works, you can safely delete init.py; it's only needed once.

Onboarding teammates

Only the first developer runs init.py. Everyone else starts from your committed, pre-configured repository.

  1. Push to your own repository:

    git remote add origin git@github.com:your-org/your-project.git
git push -u origin main

  2. Teammates clone and configure:

    • Clone your repository (not the FastReact template).
    • Install the prerequisites (uv, Node.js 22+, Sqitch, Docker).
    • Create .env files by copying each .env.example (backend/, frontend/, landing/, backend/db/).
    • Start the database: docker compose -f backend/docker-compose.yml up db -d
    • Run migrations: cd backend/db && ./sqitch.sh dev deploy
    • Install deps: uv sync in backend/, npm install in frontend/ and landing/
    • Create a local admin: cd backend && uv run scripts/create_admin.py

Never commit .env files

They contain secrets and are gitignored. Share values through a secure channel (1Password, Doppler, a shared secrets manager).

See Configuration for the full variable reference.