DVLD (Drivers & Vehicles License Department)

DVLD is a desktop-first license management system built with Electron + React on the client, a Node/Express + TypeORM API server, and a shared TypeScript DTO/types package. It supports core DVLD workflows such as people, drivers, licenses, applications, tests, and detained licenses.

Monorepo Structure

packages/
    client/   # Electron + React (Vite)
    server/   # Express + TypeORM API
    shared/   # Shared DTOs/types

Tech Stack

• Client: React 18, Vite, Electron
• Server: Node.js, Express, TypeORM, PostgreSQL
• Shared: TypeScript DTOs/types used by client & server

Prerequisites

• Node.js (recommended: latest LTS)
• npm
• PostgreSQL

Environment Variables (Server)

Create a .env file in packages/server:

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_USERNAME=your_db_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_db_password
DB_NAME=dvld
PORT=3000
SESSION_SECRET=your_session_secret
NODE_ENV='development' | 'production'
CORS_ORIGIN='http://localhost:5173'

The server uses typeorm with synchronize: true (in development mode), so it will auto-create tables on startup.

Install Dependencies

Run this command in the top-level:

npm ci

Import Backup Database

From the repository root, create the database (if missing), then import backup.sql:

npm run db:create

psql -d dvld -f backup.sql

Development

From the repository root, you can use the top-level workspace scripts:

npm run dev:server
npm run dev:client

Equivalent package-level commands:

Start the server (API):

cd packages/server
npm run start:dev

Start the client (Electron + Vite):

cd packages/client
npm run start:dev

Default ports:

• Client (Vite): http://localhost:5173
• Server (API): http://localhost:3000

Build

From the repository root:

npm run build

This runs build:shared and then compiles the referenced TypeScript projects.

Other top-level build scripts:

npm run build:shared
npm run build:server
npm run build:client
npm run dist:client

The client build also runs electron-builder to package the desktop app (using npm run dist:client).

Docker

Running with Docker Compose

The project includes a multi-stage Dockerfile and docker-compose configuration for containerized deployment.

Prerequisites:

• Docker
• Docker Compose

Start the application:

docker compose up

This will:

• Build the application image
• Start a PostgreSQL database container
• Import backup.sql into the PostgresSQL container (populate the db)
• Start the DVLD server container
• Expose the server on http://localhost:3000

Environment variables (docker-compose.yml):

Default PostgreSQL credentials:

• POSTGRES_USER=myuser
• POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mypassword
• POSTGRES_DB=dvld_db

You can override these in the docker-compose.yml file or use a .env file, make sure you match the .env.docker with it:

POSTGRES_USER=your_user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_password

Stop the application:

docker compose down

Top-Level Scripts (Root package.json)

• npm run dev:server - Run server in development mode (@dvld/server)
• npm run dev:client - Run client in development mode (@dvld/client)
• npm run build - Build shared package, then run TypeScript project build
• npm run build:shared - Build @dvld/shared
• npm run build:client - Build @dvld/client
• npm run build:server - Build @dvld/server
• npm run run:server - Run server in production mode (@dvld/server)
• npm run dist:client - Create client distribution package (@dvld/client)
• npm run clean - Clean TypeScript build outputs (tsc -b --clean)
• npm run db:create - Create PostgreSQL dvld database if it does not exist
• npm run lint - Run client lint checks (@dvld/client)

API Routing (Server)

The API is organized by feature under packages/server/src/routes and mounted in packages/server/src/routes.ts:

• /person
• /user
• /driver
• /country
• /applicationType
• /testType
• /licenseClass
• /license
• /internationalLicense
• /application
• /testAppointment
• /test
• /login, /logout
• /me

Notes

• File uploads are served from /uploads in the server.
• DTOs and shared types are defined in packages/shared.