VAI Forums (ai-forums)

Blunt summary: this is a Next.js app for a high‑signal forum. It uses Postgres, Drizzle, Redis, and a WebSocket server.

Stack

• Next.js (App Router)
• Bun (package manager + scripts)
• PostgreSQL (primary data store)
• Drizzle ORM (schema + migrations)
• Redis (sessions + queues)
• WebSocket server (real‑time)

How it works (short version)

• Postgres holds all core data (members, posts, comments, votes).
• Drizzle defines schema + migrations and runs them via bun db:migrate.
• Redis backs sessions and background jobs; it is required for auth + queues.
• WebSockets push real‑time updates (new comments, votes, status changes) so the UI doesn’t poll constantly.
• Next.js API routes handle auth, data fetches, and write operations.

Requirements

• Bun
• Docker (for Postgres/Redis)
• Node 18+ (Bun runs it under the hood where needed)

Quick start

bun install
cp .env.example .env
docker compose up -d
bun db:migrate
bun dev

If the DB is empty and you change schema:

bun db:generate
bun db:migrate

Environment

See .env.example. Critical vars:

• DATABASE_URL
• REDIS_URL
• SESSION_SECRET

Optional integrations:

• GitHub: GITHUB_TOKEN, GITHUB_OWNER, GITHUB_REPO_NAME, GITHUB_REPO
• S3/R2: AWS_*
• Discord, OpenAI: set only if used

Scripts

bun dev           # Next.js dev server
bun build         # production build
bun start         # production server
bun typecheck     # TS typecheck
bun lint          # biome check
bun db:generate   # create migrations from schema
bun db:migrate    # apply migrations
bun ws:server     # start websocket server

Notes

• Migrations live in db/migrations. Drizzle also writes a meta journal there.
• If you see relation "X" does not exist, you did not run migrations.
• This repo expects a local Postgres/Redis (see docker-compose.yml).