Local development

Use this setup to work on Imprime itself. To simply run it, prefer Docker.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later, npm

• A MongoDB — the quickest is Docker:

  docker run -d --name imprime-mongo -p 27017:27017 mongo:7

Setup

1. Clone and install

   git clone https://github.com/RemiDufeu/imprime.io.git
   cd imprime.io
   npm install

2. Configure — create .env at the repository root (it’s read by both the backend and Vite):

   .env

   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/imprime
   BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=dev-secret-change-me
   PORT=3023
   PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3023
   CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173
   VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:3023

3. Build the shared packages (needed once, and after changing them):

   npm run build:common && npm run build:sdk

4. Start backend and frontend with hot reload:

   npm run dev

   • Editor: http://localhost:5173
   • API: http://localhost:3023/api

Useful scripts

Script	What it does
npm run dev	Backend (tsx watch) + frontend (Vite) together
npm run dev:backend	Backend only
npm run dev:frontend	Frontend only
npm run build	Build all packages
npm run lint	Lint all packages
npm run docker:build	Build the Docker image

Project layout

Path	Contents
packages/backend/src/routes	REST endpoints
packages/backend/src/mcp	MCP server and tools
packages/backend/src/services	Business logic, PDF rendering (ExportService), auth
packages/frontend/src/pages	Editor, home, login, API keys pages
packages/frontend/src/store/editor	Editor state (Zustand slices)
packages/common/src	Shared types, fonts, rendering helpers

Tip

The CI type-checks the backend and the frontend on every pull request. Run npm run typecheck --workspace=@imprime/backend and npm run typecheck --workspace=@imprime/frontend before pushing.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome on GitHub. Check the roadmap for planned features, and open an issue to discuss larger changes before starting.