> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sunschool.xyz/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # System Requirements > Prerequisites for self-hosting Sunschool ## Node.js Environment ### Required Version **Node.js v20+** is required, with **v22 recommended** for production deployments. Sunschool uses modern JavaScript features and is tested against Node 22. The production deployment on Railway uses Node 22 via NIXPACKS. From `package.json`: ```json theme={null} { "name": "workspace", "version": "1.0.0", "engines": { "node": ">=20.0.0" } } ``` ### Verify Your Installation ```bash theme={null} node --version # Should output v20.x.x or higher (v22.x.x recommended) npm --version # Should output 8.x.x or higher ``` ### Installing Node.js ```bash theme={null} # Using NodeSource repository curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash - sudo apt-get install -y nodejs ``` ```bash theme={null} # Using Homebrew brew install node@22 # Or using nvm nvm install 22 nvm use 22 ``` Download the installer from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/) or use: ```powershell theme={null} # Using Chocolatey choco install nodejs-lts ``` ## PostgreSQL Database ### Required Version **PostgreSQL 12+** is required. Sunschool is tested with PostgreSQL 14 and 15. The application uses: * **JSONB columns** for complex data (lesson specs, learner profiles) * **Array types** for concept tags * **Drizzle ORM** for migrations and queries * **WebSocket connections** (Neon serverless compatible) ### Database Features Used From the schema (`shared/schema.ts`): ```typescript theme={null} // Enums export const userRoleEnum = pgEnum("user_role", ["ADMIN", "PARENT", "LEARNER"]); export const lessonStatusEnum = pgEnum("lesson_status", ["QUEUED", "ACTIVE", "DONE"]); // JSONB columns for complex data spec: json("spec").$type(), graph: json("graph").$type<{ nodes: any[], edges: any[] }>(), // Array types for tagging conceptTags: text("concept_tags").array(), ``` ### Installation Options [Neon](https://neon.tech) provides serverless PostgreSQL with: * Automatic scaling and connection pooling * WebSocket connections (used by Sunschool) * Free tier available * No server management required **Setup:** 1. Create account at [neon.tech](https://neon.tech) 2. Create new project 3. Copy connection string to `DATABASE_URL` ```env theme={null} DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@ep-cool-name-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/neondb?sslmode=require" ``` Install PostgreSQL locally: **Ubuntu/Debian:** ```bash theme={null} sudo apt update sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib sudo systemctl start postgresql ``` **macOS:** ```bash theme={null} brew install postgresql@15 brew services start postgresql@15 ``` **Create database:** ```bash theme={null} sudo -u postgres createdb sunschool sudo -u postgres psql postgres=# CREATE USER sunschool_user WITH PASSWORD 'secure_password'; postgres=# GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE sunschool TO sunschool_user; ``` **Connection string:** ```env theme={null} DATABASE_URL="postgresql://sunschool_user:secure_password@localhost:5432/sunschool" ``` Run PostgreSQL in Docker: ```bash theme={null} docker run -d \ --name sunschool-db \ -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secure_password \ -e POSTGRES_DB=sunschool \ -p 5432:5432 \ postgres:15-alpine ``` **Connection string:** ```env theme={null} DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:secure_password@localhost:5432/sunschool" ``` ## Package Manager ### npm Sunschool uses **npm** as the package manager. Minimum version 8.x required. The project includes `package.json` with all dependencies. Key packages: ```json theme={null} { "dependencies": { "express": "^5.1.0", "drizzle-orm": "^0.43.1", "react": "^19.1.0", "@tanstack/react-query": "^5.74.11", "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.2", "axios": "^1.9.0" } } ``` **Installation:** ```bash theme={null} npm install # Installs ~70 packages ``` ## System Resources ### Minimum Specifications These are **absolute minimums**. Production deployments should exceed these. | Resource | Minimum | Recommended | | ----------- | ------- | ----------- | | **CPU** | 1 vCPU | 2+ vCPUs | | **RAM** | 512 MB | 2 GB | | **Storage** | 1 GB | 10 GB+ | | **Network** | 10 Mbps | 100+ Mbps | ### Memory Considerations * **Node.js process**: 200-400 MB baseline * **PostgreSQL**: 128-256 MB minimum * **AI processing**: Temporary spikes during lesson generation * **Concurrent users**: +50MB per active session ### Storage Breakdown ``` /sunschool/ ├── node_modules/ ~300 MB (dependencies) ├── client/dist/ ~15 MB (built frontend) ├── server/dist/ ~5 MB (compiled backend) └── database/ variable (lesson data, images) ``` Lesson images (SVG) average 10-50 KB each. A typical database with 1000 lessons uses \~500 MB. ## Network Requirements ### Ports Default port is **5000** (configurable via `PORT` environment variable). ```bash theme={null} # Development http://localhost:5000 # Production (behind reverse proxy) https://yourdomain.com → proxy → localhost:5000 ``` ### Firewall Rules **Incoming:** * Port 5000 (HTTP) - from reverse proxy or public * Port 5432 (PostgreSQL) - only if database is remote **Outgoing:** * Port 443 (HTTPS) - for AI provider APIs: * `api.openrouter.ai` * `api.perplexity.ai` * `archive.opentensor.ai` (Bittensor, optional) ## Operating System ### Supported Platforms * Ubuntu 20.04+ LTS * Debian 11+ * CentOS 8+ * Amazon Linux 2 **Tested on:** Ubuntu 22.04 LTS * macOS 11 (Big Sur)+ * Apple Silicon (M1/M2) supported **Note:** For development only, not recommended for production. * Windows 10+ * Windows Server 2019+ **Note:** Use WSL2 for best compatibility: ```powershell theme={null} wsl --install wsl --set-default-version 2 ``` ## Additional Tools (Optional) ### Development Tools ```bash theme={null} # TypeScript (included in devDependencies) npx tsc --version # Build tools npm run build # Vite + TypeScript compilation npm run migrate # Database migrations npm test # Jest unit tests ``` ### Production Tools For process management and auto-restart: ```bash theme={null} npm install -g pm2 pm2 start npm --name "sunschool" -- start pm2 startup pm2 save ``` For SSL termination and load balancing: ```nginx theme={null} server { listen 443 ssl http2; server_name sunschool.example.com; location / { proxy_pass http://localhost:5000; proxy_http_version 1.1; proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade; proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade'; proxy_set_header Host $host; } } ``` ## Verification Checklist Before proceeding to installation: ```bash theme={null} node --version # ✅ v22.15.3 (or v20.x.x+) ``` ```bash theme={null} npm --version # ✅ 9.5.0 (or higher) ``` ```bash theme={null} psql -h localhost -U postgres -c "SELECT version();" # ✅ PostgreSQL 15.x ``` ```bash theme={null} free -h # RAM df -h # Disk space # ✅ 2GB RAM, 10GB disk available ``` **Ready to proceed?** Continue to [Environment Configuration](/self-hosting/environment)