Getting Started

Get datum running locally in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Node.js 20 or later

1. Start PostGIS and datum-server

Clone the repository and start the backend:

git clone https://github.com/a-saed/datum.git
cd datum
docker compose up -d

This starts two containers:

• postgis — PostgreSQL 16 with PostGIS 3.4. datum-server runs the SQL migration on first boot and installs the datum schema automatically.
• datum-server — the Go sync server, listening on ws://localhost:3000/ws.

Verify both are running:

docker compose ps

Expected: both postgis and datum-server show running.

2. Run the demo app

npm install
npm run build -w datum-sync
npm run dev -w datum-demo

Open http://localhost:5173.

3. Add a feature

Click anywhere on the map. Enter a name in the popup and click Save feature. The point appears on the map immediately — it was written to the local PGlite database and will sync to the server within 5 seconds.

Verify real-time sync

Open a second browser tab at http://localhost:5173. Features added in the first tab appear in the second tab within 5 seconds (the default sync interval).

Next steps

• How It Works — understand the local-first model, bbox subscriptions, and sync cycle
• API Reference — full TypeScript client and server documentation
• Self-Hosting — deploy to production (free-tier guide included)