Run Authora from source

This guide shows how to build and run Authora directly with the .NET SDK, e.g. to develop it or debug it. To only try Authora out, Getting started with Docker is quicker.

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 10
• PostgreSQL 17, e.g. docker run -d --name authora-db -p 5432:5432 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=12345 postgres:17-alpine
• OpenSSL
• Docker, only to run the tests

1. Configure the database

src/Authora.Api/appsettings.Development.json expects PostgreSQL on localhost:5432 with user postgres and password 12345. To use a different database without changing that file, set the connection string as an environment variable in the shell where you run the commands below:

export ConnectionStrings__Database="Host=localhost;Database=authora;Username=…;Password=…"

2. Create the database schema

Authora never migrates the database at startup:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef
dotnet ef database update --project src/Authora.Infrastructure --startup-project src/Authora.Api

3. Create a signing key

openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:2048 -out src/Authora.Api/signing-key.pem

Git ignores *.pem files.

4. Run

dotnet run --project src/Authora.Api --launch-profile https

Use the https profile: sign-in needs HTTPS. Trust the .NET development certificate once with dotnet dev-certs https --trust.

URL	What
https://localhost:7178/admin/	Admin interface
https://localhost:7178/swagger	Swagger UI of the admin API (only in Development)
https://localhost:7178/.well-known/openid-configuration	Discovery document

appsettings.Development.json creates a first administrator, admin@authora.de with the password AuthoraAdmin123!. These credentials are for local development only; never use that file outside your computer.

5. Build and test

dotnet build Authora.slnx
dotnet test --solution Authora.slnx

The tests start PostgreSQL with Testcontainers, so Docker must be running. See CONTRIBUTING.md for more, e.g. how to run a single test.