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Cove

Run Cove Locally

Run Cove locally

Section titled “Run Cove locally”

This guide is for developers working on Cove itself, not for ordinary user installs.

What you need

Section titled “What you need”
  • .NET 10 SDK
  • Node.js 22 or newer
  • PostgreSQL with pgvector available, or a Cove setup that manages the database side for you

The frontend and backend have separate development loops, so expect to run both during normal work.

Standard local flow

Section titled “Standard local flow”

Frontend

Section titled “Frontend”

Run the Vite dev server from ui/:

Terminal window
npm install
npm run dev

Backend

Section titled “Backend”

Run the API from src/:

Terminal window
dotnet run --project Cove.Api

The frontend dev server proxies API and hub traffic to the backend while you work.

When to use a production-style build locally

Section titled “When to use a production-style build locally”

Use the normal dev loop for UI and backend changes. Use a built frontend when you specifically need to verify bundled behavior, release-like output, or asset copying into the backend’s web root.

Native instance considerations

Section titled “Native instance considerations”

Native development can involve more than one local instance. The main knobs to keep straight are:

  • COVE_HOME
  • app port
  • managed PostgreSQL port or external connection string

That becomes important when you need parallel test instances or want to isolate a safe demo library from your main development data.

A good first verification loop

Section titled “A good first verification loop”

After the app starts:

  1. sign in
  2. open a list page
  3. confirm API-backed data is loading
  4. make a small frontend change and confirm hot reload
  5. make a small backend change and confirm the app still serves correctly

If that works, your local loop is ready for feature work.