development workflow

development setup#

clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/nicepkg/overlord.git
cd overlord
pnpm install

build the shared protocol package and server:

pnpm --filter @overlordai/protocol build
pnpm --filter @overlordai/server build

seed test data#

populate the database with sample developers, projects, and machines:

pnpm dev:seed

this creates the following test accounts:

start development servers#

open two terminals:

# terminal 1: start the backend server on port 9000
pnpm dev
 
# terminal 2: start the web dev server on port 5173
pnpm dev:web

the vite dev server proxies /api/* and /ws/* requests to the backend server on port 9000.

open http://localhost:5173 in your browser and log in with any of the seed credentials.

npm scripts#

after protocol changes#

whenever you modify types in packages/protocol, rebuild:

pnpm --filter @overlordai/protocol build

next steps#

• worker setup — configure worker machines to execute tasks
• developer cli reference — full ov command reference