Getting started with Rental

Clone the source, configure PostgreSQL, sessions, and storage, run migrations, create the first user, and run onboarding.

The hosted app is at rental.openship.org. The host dashboard is at rental.openship.org/dashboard.

Requirements

Node.js 20.9 or later (engines in package.json).
npm.
A PostgreSQL database you are allowed to migrate.
An S3-compatible bucket for listing images.

Clone and install

git clone https://github.com/openshiporg/openfront-rental.git
cd openfront-rental
npm install

Environment

The repository has no .env.example. Create .env in the repository root. Never commit it.

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/openfront_rental
SESSION_SECRET=replace-with-a-random-value-of-at-least-32-characters

S3_BUCKET_NAME=your-bucket
S3_REGION=your-region
S3_ENDPOINT=https://your-s3-endpoint
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key

NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://your-app-origin
PUBLIC_SIGNUPS_ALLOWED=false

What the code does with these:

SESSION_SECRET must be at least 32 characters. In production it is required. Outside production a built-in fallback is used if it is missing.
The five S3_* values configure listing media storage. Without them the app still starts, but uploads fail. S3_ENDPOINT must be an http or https origin with no path, query, or credentials.
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL is the public origin. Onboarding also saves it as the host's website. NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL can set a separate backend origin. PORT defaults to 3000.
PUBLIC_SIGNUPS_ALLOWED=true lets anyone create a user. Leave it false unless you mean it.

Optional variables:

Purpose	Variables
Mail (password reset, guest mail)	`SMTP_HOST`, `SMTP_PORT`, `SMTP_USER`, `SMTP_PASSWORD`, `SMTP_FROM`, `SMTP_STORE_LINK`
Stripe test-mode cards	`STRIPE_ENABLED`, `STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`, `STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY`, `STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET`
Signed test webhooks	`PAYMENT_WEBHOOK_SIGNED_TEST_SECRET`
Dashboard AI assistant	`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`, `OPENROUTER_MODEL`, `OPENROUTER_MAX_TOKENS`
Dashboard field order	`NEXT_PUBLIC_VIEW_ORDER`

Stripe keys must be test keys (sk_test_, pk_test_). Live keys are not accepted.

Migrations and dev server

npm run dev

This runs keystone build --no-ui, applies checked-in migrations with prisma migrate deploy, and starts Next.js.

npm run dev migrates the database in DATABASE_URL. npm run migrate:gen generates and applies new migrations.

Once running:

Storefront: /
Host dashboard: /dashboard
Guest trip entry: /trips
GraphQL API: /api/graphql

First user

Open /dashboard/init and create the first administrator. Sign-in is at /dashboard/signin.

Onboarding

After sign-in, open onboarding from the card in the dashboard sidebar. Running it requires canManageOnboarding. Pick a template:

Minimal: one home and one stay.
Full: the Housekind portfolio with five properties, guests, stays, tasks, owner records, payment providers, and one iCalendar connection.
Custom: your own validated JSON on top of the full template.

Items are created one at a time and reused if they already exist. Review properties, rates, and policies before you publish stays. Replace the seeded records with your own. Details are on the overview page.

Other commands

Command	What it does
`npm run build`	Builds Keystone and Next.js. Does not migrate.
`npm start`	Starts the production server.
`npm run migrate`	Applies checked-in migrations.
`npm run release:migrate`	Same as `migrate`, for a release step.
`npm run lint`	Runs ESLint.
`npm run seed:runtime`	Seeds a local `runtime_rental` database only.
`npm run outbox:deliver`	Runs the outbox worker. Reports `no_dispatcher` until you register one.

Deploy

The included railway.toml builds with keystone build --no-ui && next build and starts with npm run migrate && next start, so migrations run when the app starts. The README also has a Vercel deploy button that asks for DATABASE_URL, SESSION_SECRET, NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL, and the five S3_* variables.

Elsewhere, use this order:

npm run build
npm run migrate
npm start

Back up the database before you apply migrations. A health check is at /api/health.

Getting started with Rental

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