How to work from a starter repository — Basic

Misc / Other Project & repo setup

Clone the program starter, install dependencies, copy .env.example, and run locally before customizing.

Learn: Starters encode conventions the course expects. Clone, install, configure .env, migrate, and seed before changing behavior—prove the baseline works, then implement features incrementally.

Supplementary examples

.env.example fields (typical)

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/dbname
PORT=5001
LOG_LEVEL=debug
NODE_ENV=development

Course example

git clone <starter-repo-url>
cd <project-folder>
npm install
cp .env.example .env   # then fill in DATABASE_URL, PORT, etc.
npm run migrate
npm run seed
npm start

Additional references & examples

Thinkful — Node, Express, Postgres starter
Starter repo used across Knex and Express lessons.
GitHub: cloning a repository
Get a local copy of the starter project.