Quick Start¶

1. Prerequisites¶

Python 3.12+
Node.js 22+
npm
Neon DATABASE_URL
Mapbox token (NEXT_PUBLIC_MAPBOX_TOKEN)

2. Create a Neon Database¶

Create a Neon project.
Copy the project's pooled Postgres connection string.
Export that value in your shell as DATABASE_URL.

Wait Time Canada uses standard PostgreSQL migrations, so Neon is the default hosted path, but the schema remains portable to other Postgres environments.

3. Initialize Local Environment¶

cp frontend/.env.example frontend/.env.local
export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/dbname" # pragma: allowlist secret

Populate required frontend values in frontend/.env.local. The backend runtime expects DATABASE_URL in the process environment; backend/.env.local is optional as a human-managed local template only.

4. Install Backend + Frontend Dependencies¶

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install -e 'backend[dev]'

cd frontend
npm install
cd ..

5. Apply Migrations and Seed Analytics Prereqs¶

python backend/run_migrations.py
python -m waittime.cli.bootstrap_analytics --days 180

6. Start the App¶

cd frontend
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000.

7. Optional Validation¶

# Frontend
cd frontend
npm run type-check
npm run lint
npm run test:unit

# Backend
cd ..
python -m pytest backend/tests