Skip to main content

Local Development

Run DoubleCube.gg on your local machine for development.

Prerequisites​

The easiest way to run everything:

cd Backgammon.AppHost
dotnet run

This automatically starts:

  • DynamoDB Local (Docker container, port 8000)
  • Redis (Docker container, port 6379)
  • Backend Server (port 5000)
  • Frontend Dev Server (port 3000)

The Aspire Dashboard opens automatically with:

  • Service status
  • Logs
  • Traces
  • Metrics

Option 2: Manual Start​

Start DynamoDB Local​

docker run -p 8000:8000 amazon/dynamodb-local

Start Redis (Optional)​

Required for multi-server scenarios:

docker run -p 6379:6379 redis

Start Backend Server​

cd Backgammon.Server
dotnet run

Server runs on http://localhost:5000

Start Frontend​

cd Backgammon.WebClient
pnpm dev

Frontend runs on http://localhost:3000

Environment Variables​

Server Configuration​

Create Backgammon.Server/appsettings.Development.json:

{
  "DynamoDb": {
    "TableName": "backgammon-local"
  },
  "Jwt": {
    "Secret": "your-development-secret-key-at-least-32-chars",
    "Issuer": "BackgammonServer",
    "Audience": "BackgammonClient"
  },
  "Redis": {
    "ConnectionString": "localhost:6379"
  }
}

Frontend Configuration​

The frontend automatically connects to http://localhost:5000 in development.

Database Initialization​

The DynamoDB table is created automatically on server startup when AWS_ENDPOINT_URL_DYNAMODB is set (local development).

To manually verify the table:

aws dynamodb list-tables --endpoint-url http://localhost:8000

Debugging​

Backend​

  • Visual Studio: F5 to start with debugger
  • VS Code: Use the C# Dev Kit launch configuration
  • Rider: Standard .NET debugging

Frontend​

  • Browser DevTools for React components
  • React DevTools extension for component inspection
  • Network tab for SignalR messages

SignalR Debugging​

Enable detailed errors in development:

signalRBuilder.AddSignalR(options =>
{
    options.EnableDetailedErrors = true;
});

View WebSocket frames in browser Network tab → WS tab.

Common Issues​

Port Already in Use​

# Find process using port
lsof -i :5000

# Kill process
kill -9 <PID>

DynamoDB Connection Failed​

Ensure Docker is running and the container is started:

docker ps

CORS Errors​

Development mode allows all origins. If you see CORS errors, ensure you're running in Development environment.

JWT Errors​

Ensure your JWT secret in appsettings is at least 32 characters.