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Get your local development environment up and running to start contributing to Twenty or customizing it for your needs.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:
  • Node.js 24+ (required)
  • Yarn 4 (4.0.2 or higher)
  • PostgreSQL (version 16 recommended)
  • Redis (latest stable version)
  • Git
Twenty uses Yarn 4 as its package manager. The project is set up with packageManager: "[email protected]" to ensure version consistency.

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Clone the Repository

First, clone the Twenty repository: 
git clone https://github.com/twentyhq/twenty.git
cd twenty

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Install Dependencies

Install all project dependencies using Yarn: 
yarn install
This will install dependencies for all packages in the monorepo.

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Environment Configuration

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Server Configuration

Create your environment file from the example: 
cp packages/twenty-server/.env.example packages/twenty-server/.env
Edit packages/twenty-server/.env with your local configuration: 
NODE_ENV=development
PG_DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/default
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
APP_SECRET=replace_me_with_a_random_string
SIGN_IN_PREFILLED=true
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3001
Generate a secure APP_SECRET using: openssl rand -base64 32

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Frontend Configuration

The frontend typically doesn’t require additional configuration for local development, but you can create an .env file if needed: 
cp packages/twenty-front/.env.example packages/twenty-front/.env

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Database Setup

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Start PostgreSQL and Redis

Make sure PostgreSQL and Redis are running: 
brew services start postgresql@16
brew services start redis

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Initialize the Database

Reset and initialize the database: 
npx nx database:reset twenty-server
This command will:
  • Drop and recreate the database
  • Run all migrations
  • Seed with initial data

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Start Development Server

Start all services (frontend, backend, and worker) at once: 
yarn start
This command runs:
  • Frontend on http://localhost:3001
  • Backend on http://localhost:3000
  • Worker for background jobs
The yarn start command uses concurrently to run multiple services. It waits for the backend to be ready before starting the worker.

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Start Individual Services

You can also start services individually: 
npx nx start twenty-front

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Verify Installation

  1. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3001
  2. Click “Continue with Email”
  3. Use the prefilled credentials to sign in
  4. You should see the Twenty dashboard

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Development Commands

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Testing

# Run a single test file (recommended for speed)
npx jest path/to/test.test.ts --config=packages/PROJECT/jest.config.mjs

# Run all tests for a package
npx nx test twenty-front
npx nx test twenty-server

# Run integration tests with database reset
npx nx run twenty-server:test:integration:with-db-reset

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Code Quality

# Lint changes (fastest - always prefer this)
npx nx lint:diff-with-main twenty-front
npx nx lint:diff-with-main twenty-server

# Auto-fix linting issues
npx nx lint:diff-with-main twenty-front --configuration=fix

# Type checking
npx nx typecheck twenty-front
npx nx typecheck twenty-server

# Format code
npx nx fmt twenty-front
npx nx fmt twenty-server

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Database Operations

# Reset database
npx nx database:reset twenty-server

# Run migrations
npx nx run twenty-server:database:migrate:prod

# Generate a new migration
npx nx run twenty-server:typeorm migration:generate \
  src/database/typeorm/core/migrations/common/[name] \
  -d src/database/typeorm/core/core.datasource.ts

# Sync metadata
npx nx run twenty-server:command workspace:sync-metadata

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GraphQL

# Generate GraphQL types after schema changes
npx nx run twenty-front:graphql:generate
npx nx run twenty-front:graphql:generate --configuration=metadata

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Common Issues

If port 3000 or 3001 is already in use, you can:
  • Stop the conflicting process
  • Change the port in your .env file: 
    PORT=3002
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3003
Verify PostgreSQL is running and the connection string is correct:
psql postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/default
If the database doesn’t exist, create it:
createdb -U postgres default
Ensure Redis is running:
redis-cli ping
# Should return: PONG
Clean and reinstall dependencies:
yarn clean
yarn install
npx nx build twenty-shared
yarn start

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Next Steps

Architecture Overview

Learn about Twenty’s technical architecture

Contributing Guide

Start contributing to Twenty

Code Style Guide

Follow Twenty’s code conventions

Testing

Write and run tests

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