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Local Development from Source

This guide runs HappyView directly with cargo run. If you'd rather use Docker Compose, see Local Development with Docker.

Prerequisites​

  • Rust (stable)
  • (Optional) PostgreSQL 17+ if you prefer Postgres over the default SQLite

1. Clone and configure​

git clone https://github.com/graze-social/happyview.git
cd happyview
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env to point at your running services:

# SQLite (default — no setup needed, file created automatically)
DATABASE_URL=sqlite://data/happyview.db?mode=rwc
PUBLIC_URL=http://localhost:3000
SESSION_SECRET=change-me-in-production

Or if you prefer Postgres:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://happyview:happyview@localhost/happyview

See Configuration for all available variables and the database setup guide for details on both backends.

2. Create the database (Postgres only)​

If using SQLite, skip this step — HappyView creates the database file automatically.

If using Postgres:

createdb happyview

Or if using a Postgres user with a password:

psql -c "CREATE DATABASE happyview;" -U postgres

HappyView runs migrations automatically on startup, so no manual migration step is needed.

3. Start HappyView​

cargo run

HappyView starts on port 3000 (configurable via the PORT environment variable).

Next steps​

Your HappyView instance is running. Follow the Statusphere tutorial to upload lexicons, add custom query logic, and start indexing records from the network.