Action

Overview

Parabol is a free open-source SaaS application for operating a distributed organization.

We're hiring!

Curious to learn where this all came from? Each week we publish a distillation of our progress, philosophy, and more in Parabol Focus.

Quick Links

Stack Information
Setup
Getting Involved
Releases
About
License

Stack Information

Action is a Node.js application based upon the Meatier stack:

Concern	Solution
Server	Node 8.5
Server Framework	Express
Database	RethinkDB
Data Transport	GraphQL
Sockets	socketcluster
Client State	Redux
Client Data Cache	Relay
Front-end Views	React
Styling	aphrodite
Unit Testing	jest

Action is coded using ECMAscript ES6/7 (including async/await). Transpilation is provided by babel.

Setup

Installation

Prerequisites

Action requires Node.js >=8.5.0 (we're using 8.5.0 in development). We recommend using n to install and manage your node versions.

Action also depends on RethinkDB. Make sure you have it installed. If you have OSX, we recommend homebrew so upgrades are as easy as brew update && brew upgrade rethinkdb

Action also uses yarn which can be installed by running npm install -g yarn

Additional dependencies include redis, and watchman (optional for relay).

Source code

$ git clone https://github.com/ParabolInc/action.git
$ cd action
$ cp .env.example .env # be sure to verify the API keys have useful values
$ rethinkdb # in a separate window
$ yarn
$ npm run quickstart

Remember: if RethinkDB is running locally, you can reach its dashboard at http://localhost:8080 by default.

The majority of Action's Javascript files are written using the emerging ECMAScript ES6 and ES7 standards. If you open a source file and see syntax errors, you may have to configure your editor differently. Our team's editors (Atom and Webstorm) have plugins which parse our project's Javascript transpilation options directly from .babelrc. If your editor has this option, it's the best way to go.

Client-side development

In this mode, webpack will hot swap your updated client modules without needing to restarting the development server.

$ npm run build
$ npm run dev

http://localhost:3000/

Server-side development

In this mode, the server will build client bundle and start a production server with the fresh code.

$ npm run bs

http://localhost:3000/

Database development

The database schema version is managed by migrate-rethinkdb. Migration scripts are stored in ./src/server/database/migrations.

If you make changes to the Action schema, make certain to create a new migration.

Test development

$ npm run db:migrate-testing # Only needs to be run once
$ npm run test # Runs all tests

Getting Started on Windows

Currently, many of the config files are written for a Unix based shell like bash. If you plan on contributing (awesome!), but are working on a Windows machine, you can follow these steps to get started. Note this is just one way of setting up the environment for Windows, but it is the least likely to give you trouble down the road.

Follow the instructions to install bash for windows
Open cmd and type bash
Install node >= 8.5.0 inside of your bash instance
Install the dependencies for watchman
Install watchman from source
Start an instance of rethinkDB
Start an instance of redis
Navigate to the directory of your choice

$ git clone https://github.com/ParabolInc/action.git
$ cd action
$ yarn
$ npm run quickstart

If you run into problems, run each of these commands separately and watch for errors.

npm run db:migrate
npm run build:dll
npm run build:relay
npm run dev

Bringing your database up to date

$ npm run db:migrate

Migrating backward and forward

The following commands are available to migrate your database instance forward and backward in time:

npm run db:migrate-up - migrate up one schema version
npm run db:migrate-up-all - migrate upward to latest schema
npm run db:migrate-down - migrate down one schema version
npm run db:migrate-down-all - migrate downward completely (will erase everything)

Exploring the data API:

While running the app in development mode, navigate to http://localhost:3000/graphql for testing out new queries/mutations

Exploring component design:

We've begun assembling a pattern library of all of the components we've created for the app. Too see them, navigate to http://localhost:3000/patterns

Getting Involved

Action is software built with the community for the community. We can't do it without your help!

You're contribution won't go unrewarded: Parabol offers equity in our young company for qualified contributions to Action.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for more information on how to get involved and how to get compensated.

Releases

For details on all releases, refer to CHANGELOG.md.

About

Authored and maintained by Parabol.

Parabol Core Team

License

Action is dual-licensed under the GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE, Version 3.0 while holding, at its sole discretion, the right to create new licenses. For details please read LICENSE.

See CHANGELOG.md

ajibs/action