Quickstart

Get your SkillRise e-learning platform running locally or with Docker in just a few steps.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

Node.js 20+ and npm installed
MongoDB (local or Atlas account)
Accounts for third-party services:
- Clerk - Authentication
- Stripe - Payments (or Razorpay)
- Cloudinary - Media uploads
- Groq - AI features

Don’t have these accounts yet? You can set them up as you go through the quickstart. Free tiers are available for all services.

Quick start with Docker

The fastest way to get started is with Docker Compose:

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/pv-pushkarverma/SkillRise.git
cd SkillRise

Configure environment variables

Create environment files for both server and client:

# Copy example files
cp server/.env.example server/.env
cp client/.env.example client/.env

Edit server/.env and client/.env with your API keys. See Configuration for detailed setup instructions.

Start with Docker Compose

docker compose up --build

Your application will be available at:

Frontend: http://localhost
Backend: http://localhost:3000

Seed the database (optional)

Populate with sample data:

docker compose exec server node seed.js

Docker Compose will automatically pull pre-built images from Docker Hub. The first run may take a few minutes.

Local development setup

For active development, run the services locally:

Clone and install dependencies

git clone https://github.com/pv-pushkarverma/SkillRise.git
cd SkillRise

# Install server dependencies
cd server && npm install

# Install client dependencies
cd ../client && npm install

Set up environment variables

Configure both server and client environment files:

Server environment variables (server/.env)

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/skillrise
CURRENCY=INR

CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_...
CLERK_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...

CLOUDINARY_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_SECRET_KEY=your_api_secret

STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_...
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...

GROQ_CHATBOT_API_KEY=gsk_...
GROQ_MODEL=llama-3.3-70b-versatile

Client environment variables (client/.env)

VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
VITE_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
VITE_BACKEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

Start MongoDB

If using local MongoDB:

brew services start mongodb-community

sudo systemctl start mongod

net start MongoDB

Or use MongoDB Atlas and update MONGODB_URI with your connection string.

Start the development servers

Open two terminal windows:

Backend
Frontend

cd server
npm run server

Server runs at http://localhost:3000

cd client
npm run dev

Frontend runs at http://localhost:5173

Seed sample data

In a third terminal:

cd server
npm run seed

This creates sample courses, users, and community content.

Verify your setup

After starting the application:

Visit the frontend at http://localhost:5173 (or http://localhost with Docker)
Sign up using Clerk authentication
Browse courses on the home page
Test AI features by opening the chat assistant

Configure integrations

Set up Clerk, Stripe, Cloudinary, and Groq

Deployment guide

Deploy to production with Docker

Project structure

Understand the codebase architecture

API reference

Explore the REST API endpoints

Troubleshooting

MongoDB connection failed

Ensure MongoDB is running:

# Check if MongoDB is running
mongo --eval "db.version()"

If using Atlas, verify your connection string includes the correct password and IP whitelist.

Clerk authentication not working

Verify CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY matches in both server and client .env
Check that your frontend URL is added to Clerk’s allowed origins
Ensure webhooks are configured in Clerk dashboard

Payment webhooks failing

For local development, use ngrok to expose your webhook endpoint:

ngrok http 3000

Then update your webhook URL in Stripe/Razorpay dashboard to the ngrok URL.

AI features not responding

Verify GROQ_CHATBOT_API_KEY is set correctly
Check rate limits on your Groq account
Ensure the model name is llama-3.3-70b-versatile

Next steps

Explore features

Learn about course management, AI features, and community tools.

Become an educator

Apply to create courses through the educator application process.

Customize the platform

Review the project structure and contributing guidelines.

Overview

Getting Started

Core Features

For Students

For Educators

For Admins

Integrations

Deployment

Development

Prerequisites

Quick start with Docker

Local development setup

Verify your setup

Configure integrations

Deployment guide

Project structure

API reference

Troubleshooting

Next steps

​Prerequisites

​Quick start with Docker

​Local development setup

​Verify your setup

Configure integrations

Deployment guide

Project structure

API reference

​Troubleshooting

​Next steps

Prerequisites

Quick start with Docker

Local development setup

Verify your setup

Troubleshooting

Next steps