> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://skillrisedocs.pushkarverma.online/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Installation

> Install and set up SkillRise locally with Node.js, npm, and MongoDB

## Prerequisites

Before installing SkillRise, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Node.js 20+" icon="node-js" iconType="duotone">
    Required for running both client and server
  </Card>

  <Card title="npm or yarn" icon="box" iconType="duotone">
    Package manager for JavaScript dependencies
  </Card>

  <Card title="MongoDB" icon="database" iconType="duotone">
    Local instance or MongoDB Atlas cluster
  </Card>

  <Card title="Git" icon="code-branch" iconType="duotone">
    For cloning the repository
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  **Recommended Setup:** Node.js 20.x LTS, npm 10.x, MongoDB 8.x or MongoDB Atlas free tier
</Note>

***

## Verification

Verify your Node.js and npm versions:

```bash theme={null}
node --version
# Expected: v20.x.x or higher

npm --version
# Expected: 10.x.x or higher
```

<Accordion title="Expected output">
  ```
  v20.11.0
  10.2.4
  ```
</Accordion>

***

## Clone the Repository

<Steps>
  <Step title="Clone from GitHub">
    Clone the SkillRise repository to your local machine:

    ```bash theme={null}
    git clone https://github.com/pv-pushkarverma/skillrise.git
    cd skillrise
    ```

    <Accordion title="Expected output">
      ```
      Cloning into 'skillrise'...
      remote: Enumerating objects: 1247, done.
      remote: Counting objects: 100% (1247/1247), done.
      remote: Compressing objects: 100% (892/892), done.
      remote: Total 1247 (delta 678), reused 1104 (delta 589)
      Receiving objects: 100% (1247/1247), 2.34 MiB | 5.21 MiB/s, done.
      Resolving deltas: 100% (678/678), done.
      ```
    </Accordion>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify project structure">
    Check that the repository was cloned successfully:

    ```bash theme={null}
    ls -la
    ```

    You should see:

    ```
    client/
    server/
    docker-compose.yml
    README.md
    .github/
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Install Dependencies

<Warning>
  The client and server have separate `package.json` files. You must install dependencies for both.
</Warning>

### Backend (Server)

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to server directory">
    ```bash theme={null}
    cd server
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install npm packages">
    ```bash theme={null}
    npm install
    ```

    This installs all dependencies including:

    * **express** (v5.1.0) - Web framework
    * **mongoose** (v8.13.2) - MongoDB ODM
    * **@clerk/express** (v1.4.8) - Authentication
    * **cloudinary** (v2.6.0) - Media uploads
    * **groq-sdk** (v0.34.0) - AI chat
    * **razorpay** (v2.9.6) - Payments

    <Accordion title="Full installation output">
      ```
      added 247 packages, and audited 248 packages in 12s

      38 packages are looking for funding
        run `npm fund` for details

      found 0 vulnerabilities
      ```
    </Accordion>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify installation">
    Check that `node_modules` was created:

    ```bash theme={null}
    ls -d node_modules
    # Output: node_modules
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Frontend (Client)

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to client directory">
    ```bash theme={null}
    cd ../client
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install npm packages">
    ```bash theme={null}
    npm install
    ```

    This installs all dependencies including:

    * **react** (v19.0.0) - UI library
    * **react-router-dom** (v7.5.1) - Routing
    * **@clerk/clerk-react** (v5.28.2) - Auth UI
    * **axios** (v1.8.4) - HTTP client
    * **tailwindcss** (v3.4.17) - Styling
    * **vite** (v6.3.1) - Build tool

    <Accordion title="Full installation output">
      ```
      added 312 packages, and audited 313 packages in 15s

      102 packages are looking for funding
        run `npm fund` for details

      found 0 vulnerabilities
      ```
    </Accordion>
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## MongoDB Setup

Choose one of the following MongoDB setup options:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="MongoDB Atlas (Recommended)">
    ### Use MongoDB Atlas (Free Cloud Database)

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Create Atlas account">
        1. Go to [mongodb.com/cloud/atlas](https://mongodb.com/cloud/atlas)
        2. Sign up for a free account
        3. Create a new cluster (M0 free tier)
      </Step>

      <Step title="Configure network access">
        1. Go to **Network Access** → **Add IP Address**
        2. Click **Allow Access from Anywhere** (0.0.0.0/0)
        3. Confirm

        <Warning>
          For production, restrict to specific IPs only
        </Warning>
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create database user">
        1. Go to **Database Access** → **Add New Database User**
        2. Choose **Password** authentication
        3. Username: `skillrise`
        4. Generate a secure password
        5. Grant **Read and write to any database** permission
      </Step>

      <Step title="Get connection string">
        1. Click **Connect** on your cluster
        2. Choose **Connect your application**
        3. Copy the connection string:

        ```
        mongodb+srv://skillrise:<password>@cluster0.xxxxx.mongodb.net
        ```

        4. Replace `<password>` with your database user password
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Local MongoDB">
    ### Install MongoDB Locally

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="macOS">
        ```bash theme={null}
        # Install via Homebrew
        brew tap mongodb/brew
        brew install mongodb-community@8.0

        # Start MongoDB
        brew services start mongodb-community@8.0

        # Verify it's running
        mongosh
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)">
        ```bash theme={null}
        # Import MongoDB GPG key
        curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-8.0.asc | \
          sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg

        # Add MongoDB repository
        echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu jammy/mongodb-org/8.0 multiverse" | \
          sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-8.0.list

        # Install MongoDB
        sudo apt-get update
        sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org

        # Start MongoDB
        sudo systemctl start mongod
        sudo systemctl enable mongod

        # Verify
        mongosh
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Windows">
        1. Download MongoDB Community Server from [mongodb.com/try/download/community](https://www.mongodb.com/try/download/community)
        2. Run the installer (`.msi` file)
        3. Choose **Complete** installation
        4. Install MongoDB as a Windows Service
        5. Open Command Prompt and verify:

        ```cmd theme={null}
        mongosh
        ```
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>

    <Note>
      Local MongoDB will be available at `mongodb://localhost:27017`
    </Note>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Third-Party Service Setup

SkillRise requires API keys from the following services:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Clerk" icon="shield-check" href="https://clerk.com">
    User authentication and webhooks
  </Card>

  <Card title="Razorpay" icon="credit-card" href="https://razorpay.com">
    Payment processing for course purchases
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cloudinary" icon="cloud" href="https://cloudinary.com">
    Media uploads (thumbnails, course content)
  </Card>

  <Card title="Groq" icon="robot" href="https://console.groq.com">
    AI chatbot and roadmap generation
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Accordion title="Quick signup links">
  * **Clerk:** [dashboard.clerk.com/sign-up](https://dashboard.clerk.com/sign-up)
  * **Razorpay:** [dashboard.razorpay.com/signup](https://dashboard.razorpay.com/signup) (India) or use **Stripe** for international
  * **Cloudinary:** [cloudinary.com/users/register\_free](https://cloudinary.com/users/register_free)
  * **Groq:** [console.groq.com](https://console.groq.com) (sign in with Google/GitHub)
</Accordion>

***

## Verify Installation

Before proceeding to configuration, verify that all components are installed:

```bash theme={null}
# Check Node.js
node --version

# Check npm packages (from server directory)
cd server && npm list --depth=0

# Check npm packages (from client directory)
cd ../client && npm list --depth=0

# Check MongoDB connection (if local)
mongosh --eval "db.version()"
```

<Check>
  **Installation complete!** You're ready to proceed to [Configuration](/getting-started/configuration).
</Check>

***

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="npm install fails with permission errors">
    **Solution:** Avoid using `sudo` with npm. Instead, configure npm to use a different directory:

    ```bash theme={null}
    mkdir ~/.npm-global
    npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
    echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
    source ~/.bashrc
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Node version mismatch">
    **Error:** `The engine "node" is incompatible with this module`

    **Solution:** Use [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm) to install Node.js 20:

    ```bash theme={null}
    nvm install 20
    nvm use 20
    node --version
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="MongoDB connection refused">
    **For local MongoDB:**

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Check if MongoDB is running
    sudo systemctl status mongod  # Linux
    brew services list            # macOS

    # Start MongoDB if stopped
    sudo systemctl start mongod   # Linux
    brew services start mongodb-community@8.0  # macOS
    ```

    **For MongoDB Atlas:** Verify network access settings allow your IP address.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Port 3000 or 5173 already in use">
    **Error:** `EADDRINUSE: address already in use :::3000`

    **Solution:** Find and kill the process using the port:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Find process on port 3000
    lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9

    # Or use a different port
    PORT=4000 npm run server
    ```
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Configuration" icon="gear" href="/getting-started/configuration">
    Set up environment variables and API keys
  </Card>

  <Card title="Docker Setup" icon="docker" href="/getting-started/docker-setup">
    Run SkillRise with Docker Compose
  </Card>
</CardGroup>