This houses Instant's backend. Let’s get you started!

The easiest way to get started is to run make docker-compose. That command will use docker compose to set up a new postgres database and start the server. The instant server will be available at http://localhost:8888 and you can connect to nrepl on port 6005.

If you want to run Instant locally, first install dependencies:

1. Install Java 22 for mac, linux, or windows.

2. Install Clojure https://clojure.org/guides/install_clojure.

3. Install golang-migrate https://github.com/golang-migrate/migrate/tree/master/cmd/migrate#installation.

Create a new postgres database called instant:

createdb instant

Ensure your postgresql.conf has logical replication enabled:

wal_level = logical

Run the migrations to initialize the database:

make dev-up

Bootstrap a config file (this creates a few dummy secrets for working locally):

make bootstrap-oss

And start the server:

make dev

The instant server will run at localhost:8888 and you can connect to nrepl on port 6005.

To run tests:

make test

If you want to make any changes to your configuration, update the resources/config/override.edn file that was created when you ran make docker-compose or make bootstrap-oss. src/instant/config_edn.clj has a spec that describes the data for the file, or you can look at resources/config/dev.edn for an example.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line on our Discord.