dograh/docs/contribution/setup.mdx

---
title: Setup
description: Set up the Dograh contributor environment with the devcontainer-first workflow.
---
<Note>
If the steps below do not work for you, please open an issue on [GitHub](https://github.com/dograh-hq/dograh/issues).
</Note>

<Tip>
**Using Claude Code or Codex?** Install the official Dograh setup skill and let your agent walk you through the contributor setup — it covers both the devcontainer and host-managed paths, runs Dograh's own scripts, and verifies the stack is healthy.

<CodeGroup>
```text Claude Code
/plugin marketplace add dograh-hq/dograh-plugins
/plugin install dograh@dograh
```
```text Codex
codex plugin marketplace add dograh-hq/dograh-plugins
codex plugin add dograh@dograh
```
</CodeGroup>

Start a new session, then ask it to *"set up Dograh for development"* (or run `/dograh-setup develop` in Claude Code). More at [dograh-hq/dograh-plugins](https://github.com/dograh-hq/dograh-plugins).
</Tip>

### Recommended: Devcontainer Setup

#### System Requirements
- Git
- Docker Desktop or another local Docker engine
- For the IDE path: VS Code with the [Dev Containers extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers)
- For the terminal-only path: Node.js on your host so you can install the Dev Container CLI

1. Fork the Dograh repository at https://github.com/dograh-hq/dograh
2. Clone **your fork**:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/<GITHUB_HANDLE>/dograh
cd dograh
```
3. Start the devcontainer.

   In VS Code, open the repository and run **Dev Containers: Reopen in Container**.

   Without an IDE, use the Dev Container CLI:
```bash
npm install -g @devcontainers/cli
devcontainer up --workspace-folder .
devcontainer exec --workspace-folder . bash
```
4. Wait for the first build to finish. The first build takes several minutes; subsequent opens are much faster.
5. Start the backend from a terminal inside the container:
```bash
bash scripts/start_services_dev.sh
```

   Without an IDE, run the same command from your host:
```bash
devcontainer exec --workspace-folder . bash scripts/start_services_dev.sh
```
6. Start the UI from another terminal inside the container:
```bash
cd ui
npm run dev -- --hostname 0.0.0.0
```

   Without an IDE, use another host terminal:
```bash
devcontainer exec --workspace-folder . bash -lc 'cd ui && npm run dev -- --hostname 0.0.0.0'
```
7. Verify that the backend is healthy:
```bash
curl -X GET localhost:8000/api/v1/health
```
8. Open the app at `http://localhost:3000`.

### More Setup Options

- For what the devcontainer bootstrap does, rebuild guidance, logs, and personal install hooks, see [Devcontainer Workflow](/contribution/devcontainer).
- If you cloned `dograh-hq/dograh` directly instead of your fork, see [Fork Workflow](/contribution/fork-workflow) to reset `origin` and `upstream`.
- If you do not want to use the devcontainer, see [Host-managed Setup](/contribution/host-managed-setup).