Getting Started

Run CloudWatcher locally

Install dependencies, configure environment files, run the backend and frontend, and verify the local app.

This guide is for developers running the product on their own machine.

Before you start

  • Install Node.js 18 or newer.
  • Install Docker if you use the local monitoring stack.
  • Have a MongoDB connection string ready.
  • Have provider keys or test credentials only for the features you want to verify.

1. Install dependencies

Backend

cd backend
npm install

Frontend

cd ../frontend
npm install

2. Configure and start the backend

Create backend/.env from the example file and fill only the values you need for local testing.

Common backend values

PORT=4000
MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_uri
JWT_SECRET=your_local_secret
GEMINI_API_KEY=optional_for_ai_features

Start backend

cd backend
npm run dev

3. Configure and start the frontend

Common frontend values

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:4000

Start frontend

cd frontend
npm run dev
  • Open http://localhost:3000 after the Next.js server starts.

4. Verify the stack

  • Create or sign in to a local account.
  • Open Dashboard and confirm the frontend can call the backend.
  • Open Settings and connect only the providers you need for testing.
  • For AI telemetry, create an ingest key and send a small test trace before debugging larger apps.

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CloudWatcher feature catalog

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If your team still runs into setup issues, empty dashboards, billing delays, callback failures, or alerting problems, continue with troubleshooting before re-running the entire onboarding flow.

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