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Getting started

Three ways to run obop. Pick the hosted beta to try it in minutes, Docker with PostgreSQL for a real deployment, or a local build for development.

Option 1: the hosted beta ​

The hosted service gives each business its own instance with its own database. It is free during the beta.

  1. Sign up. Open the sign-up app, enter your email and a password, and choose Create account.
  2. Create an instance. Give it a name of 3 to 30 characters. The address is made from the name. Setting up takes a short while; the page shows the progress.
  3. Sign in. Follow the link to your instance and sign in with the same email and password. Your sign-up account becomes the first administrator of the instance.
  4. Install an app. Open Customize, then Marketplace, and install an app such as Helpdesk or Projects. Installing and removing apps needs the administrator group. The five built-in apps (CRM, Sales, Invoicing, Products and Contacts) are already there.
  5. Create records. Open an app, choose New and fill in the form. Lists, boards and the side panel are generated from the app's description.
  6. Invite an agent. There is no screen for agent tokens yet. Sign in over the REST API and create an agent token, then connect over MCP or use REST.

Option 2: self-host with Docker and PostgreSQL ​

You need Docker. The repository includes a Compose file that starts PostgreSQL and obop together, published on localhost only:

bash
git clone https://github.com/SpaceCorps/obop.git
cd obop
docker compose up --build

The first build compiles the Rust workspace and takes a while. When it is up, open http://127.0.0.1:8080. The Compose file starts obop with demo data (--demo) and no users, so create the first administrator:

bash
docker compose exec obop obop admin create alice --all-groups

obop reads the password from standard input, so you are prompted for it (at least 12 characters). Sign in as alice.

To run the image against your own PostgreSQL instead, set OBOP_DATABASE_URL:

bash
docker build -t obop .
docker run -d --name obop -p 8080:8080 \
  -e OBOP_DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@host:5432/obop \
  obop

The image runs one instance by default. Its command is obop serve --addr 0.0.0.0:8080 --static /srv/backoffice. See Self-hosting and operations for the control plane, backups and what is missing.

Option 3: local development with SQLite ​

You need the Rust toolchain from rust-toolchain.toml, pnpm and Vite+ (vp). SQLite is the default storage, so no database server is needed.

bash
git clone https://github.com/SpaceCorps/obop.git
cd obop
cargo build
vp install
(cd web/apps/backoffice && vp build)
echo "a password of 12+ characters" | cargo run -- admin create alice --all-groups
cargo run -- serve --static web/apps/backoffice/dist

Open http://127.0.0.1:8080 and sign in as alice. The data is in obop.db in the current directory; pass --db sqlite:///path/to/file.db to use another file. A new, empty SQLite database is filled with fake demo data automatically (--demo forces it).

--dev-auth swaps real sign-in for fixed tokens named dev-admin, dev-sales and dev-agent. It refuses to bind to anything but localhost.

What next ​