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

# Local Setup

> Development environment configuration

## Prerequisites

* Node.js 22+
* pnpm 9+ (`corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@9.12.1`)
* PostgreSQL (local install, or a [Neon](https://neon.tech) project for cloud-hosted dev)
* OpenAI API key

## Install Dependencies

```bash theme={null}
pnpm install
```

## Environment Variables

Copy `.env.example` and configure for your local setup:

```bash theme={null}
cp .env.example apps/web-app/.env.local
```

See [Quickstart](/quickstart) for the minimum required variables.

## Build

```bash theme={null}
# Build all packages
pnpm build

# Type check everything
pnpm typecheck

# Type check a specific package
pnpm --filter @whilst/web-app typecheck
```

## Run Locally

```bash theme={null}
# Web app (Next.js dev server)
pnpm --filter @whilst/web-app dev

# Job worker (local Lambda emulation)
pnpm --filter @whilst/job-worker dev
```

## Package Commands

Use `pnpm --filter <package>` to run commands in specific packages:

```bash theme={null}
# Add a dependency
pnpm --filter @whilst/web-app add lodash

# Run tests for a package
pnpm --filter @whilst/tenant-store test

# Lint a package
pnpm --filter @whilst/web-app lint
```

## Cross-Package Imports

All packages use the `@whilst/` scope. Import shared code like:

```typescript theme={null}
import { TenantStore } from '@whilst/tenant-store';
import { SlackClient } from '@whilst/communication-slack';
```

## Conventions

* **pnpm only** — do not use npm or yarn
* **Database access** goes through `packages/tenant-store`
* **Real-time events** use `publishEvent()` (batching is automatic)
* **Single changelog** at `/CHANGELOG.md` — always update it