Get Started

Watch the walkthrough video above for a full demo of the setup process, or follow the steps below.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Docker, for running PostgreSQL locally
• Google OAuth credentials, for social login

1. Clone and Install

git clone <your-repo-url> my-app
cd my-app
pnpm install

2. Set Up Environment

cp .env.example .env

Most defaults in .env.example work for local development. You only need to fill in a few values to get running.

Generate the auth secret

pnpm dlx @better-auth/cli secret

Paste the output into BETTER_AUTH_SECRET in your .env file.

Add Google OAuth keys

Go to the Google Cloud Console, create an OAuth 2.0 client, and paste the values:

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

Minimum required config

The database URL, app URLs, and other defaults are pre-configured for local development. Configure the remaining services later:

Each service has a dedicated guide with a video walkthrough.

3. Start the Database

docker-compose up -d

Starts PostgreSQL on port 5432 with credentials matching the default DATABASE_URL.

4. Run Migrations

pnpm prisma migrate dev

Creates the user, session, account, verification, and subscription tables.

To reset the database at any time:

docker-compose down -v && docker-compose up -d && pnpm prisma migrate dev

5. Start the Dev Server

pnpm dev

Open http://localhost:3000.

What You Should See

Create an account at /auth/register. To make yourself an admin, update the role field in the user table to "admin".

Next Steps

• Read the overview to understand what each module does
• Set up Stripe to enable subscription billing
• Review the project structure to see where things live