Installation¶

Prerequisites¶

Requirement	Version
Python	3.11+
Node.js	18+
Anthropic API key	Get one here (optional — users provide their own via BYOK)

Install Dependencies¶

git clone https://github.com/onegunsamurai/OpenLearning.git
cd OpenLearning

# Install both backend and frontend dependencies
make install

This runs:

pip install -r backend/requirements.txt (Python packages)
npm install in the frontend/ directory (Node packages)
pip install pre-commit && pre-commit install (Git pre-commit hooks)

Configure Environment¶

Backend¶

cp backend/.env.example backend/.env

Edit backend/.env and set your API key:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key_here
CORS_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000

# GitHub OAuth (required for authentication)
# GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your_github_oauth_app_client_id
# GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your_github_oauth_app_client_secret
# JWT_SECRET_KEY=your_random_secret_key_here
# ENCRYPTION_KEY=your_fernet_key_here
# FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

Variable	Description	Default
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Fallback Anthropic API key (users provide their own via BYOK)	—
`CORS_ORIGINS`	Allowed CORS origins	`http://localhost:3000`
`GITHUB_CLIENT_ID`	GitHub OAuth app client ID*	—
`GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET`	GitHub OAuth app secret*	—
`JWT_SECRET_KEY`	JWT signing key (random 256-bit hex string)*	—
`ENCRYPTION_KEY`	Fernet key for API key encryption*	—
`FRONTEND_URL`	Frontend URL for OAuth redirects	`http://localhost:3000`

*Required for authentication. Without these, protected endpoints return 501/401. Demo mode works without auth.

Frontend¶

cp frontend/.env.example frontend/.env.local

The default configuration points to the local backend:

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:8000

Start the Application¶

# Run both frontend and backend concurrently
make dev

This starts:

Backend: http://localhost:8000 (FastAPI + Uvicorn)
Frontend: http://localhost:3000 (Next.js dev server)
API Docs: http://localhost:8000/api/docs (Swagger UI)

You can also run them separately:

make dev-backend   # Backend only (port 8000)
make dev-frontend  # Frontend only (port 3000)

Verify Installation¶

Open http://localhost:8000/api/docs — you should see the Swagger UI
Open http://localhost:3000 — you should see the OpenLearning onboarding page
Try the skills endpoint: GET http://localhost:8000/api/skills should return the skills taxonomy

Docker Setup (Alternative)¶

If you prefer not to install Python and Node.js locally, use Docker:

# Configure backend
cp backend/.env.example backend/.env
# Edit backend/.env and set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

# Production-like mode
make docker-up

# Development mode (hot-reload)
make docker-dev

This starts the full stack — backend at http://localhost:8000 and frontend at http://localhost:3000.

To stop containers: make docker-down To stop and remove all data: make docker-clean

Tip

If LLM calls fail, check that a valid API key is configured — either via BYOK in the UI or as ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in backend/.env. The database requires PostgreSQL. Run make dev-db to start a PostgreSQL container, or configure DATABASE_URL to point to your own instance. Tables are created automatically on first run.