Quick Start — ODAC.JS Docs
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🚀 Quick Start

ODAC is built for speed and zero-configuration. You can bootstrap a production-ready, high-performance web application in seconds.

1. Requirements

  • Node.js: 18.0.0 or higher.
  • npm: 8.0.0 or higher.

2. Initialize Your Project

The standard way to start an ODAC project is using the interactive init command via npx. Run this in your terminal:

npx odac init my-app

What this does:

  • Creates a new folder named my-app.
  • Copies the ODAC enterprise skeleton (controllers, routes, views, etc.).
  • Initializes package.json with the latest ODAC framework dependency.
  • Runs npm install automatically.

3. Launch Development Mode

Navigate into your project directory and start the smart development server:

cd my-app
npm run dev

Your app is now live at http://localhost:1071 (default port).

Features enabled in Dev Mode:

  • Hot-reloading: The server and cluster workers restart instantly on backend changes.
  • Zero-Config Tailwind CSS v4: Automatically watches and compiles your styles.
  • Detailed Stack Traces: Helps you debug errors quickly in the browser and console.

4. Setup AI Agent Skills

ODAC is designed to be AI-First. It provides pre-built "skills" (knowledge files) that teach your AI coding assistant (like Antigravity, Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf) exactly how to write ODAC-compatible code.

Run this command inside your project root:

npx odac skills

Follow the interactive prompt to sync the documentation and patterns directly into your IDE's agent configuration folder.


5. Essential Commands

Command Description
npm run dev Start development server with hot-reload & styles.
npm run build Compile and minify styles for production.
npm start Run the application in high-performance production mode.
npx odac migrate Run pending database migrations.
npx odac skills Sync/Update AI Agent knowledge files.

6. Next Steps

  • Define Routes: Open route/web.js to see how URLs are mapped to views.
  • Project Structure: Learn how to organize your file/folder layout.
  • Build Views: Check the view/ directory for your HTML templates.
  • Manage Database: Update odac.json to connect to PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite.