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Takeaways

By the end of this section, you will be able to:
  • Start the Next.js development server
  • Test the basic application functionality
  • Verify that your database and environment are working correctly
  • Understand the current application structure

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Start the Development Server

Now that you have your database and environment variables configured, let’s start the development server and test your application.
1

Start the server

Multiple terminals: If you have Drizzle Studio running in your current terminal, create a new terminal tab/window to run the development server. This allows both services to run simultaneously for local development.
Run the following command in your terminal:
npm run dev
2

Check for success

You should see output similar to:
Terminal
  ▲ Next.js 14.2.4
  - Local:        http://localhost:3000
  - Environments: .env

 ✓ Starting...
 ✓ Ready in 1464ms
3

Access the application

  1. Open your browser
  2. Navigate to http://localhost:3000
  3. You should see the application homepage that says:
Hello, world!
Development URL: The application will be available at http://localhost:3000
Hot Reload: Any changes you make to the code will automatically refresh the browser

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Troubleshooting Common Issues

Common solutions:
  1. Check port conflicts - Ensure port 3000 is not in use by another application
  2. Verify dependencies - Run npm install to ensure all packages are installed
  3. Check environment variables - Ensure your .env file is in the project root
  4. Check Node.js version - Ensure you’re using Node.js 18 or higher
Check these items:
  1. Verify DATABASE_URL - Ensure your connection string is correct in .env
  2. Check database status - Verify your Vercel/Neon database is active
  3. Test connection - Try running npm run db:studio to test database connectivity
  4. Check migrations - Ensure you ran npm run db:migrate successfully
Solutions:
  1. TypeScript errors - Check for missing dependencies or type definitions
  2. Import errors - Ensure all required packages are installed
  3. Syntax errors - Check for any syntax issues in your code
  4. Clear cache - Try deleting node_modules and running npm install again

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Reflection Questions

Take a moment to reflect on what you’ve learned. Think about it first and then use AI to refine your answers.

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Next Steps

Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up your development environment and verified that everything is working. In the next module, you’ll:
  • Understand the database schema and existing table structure
  • Add vector storage capabilities to support embeddings
  • Implement database migrations for the enhanced schema
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