TechTutor

English

Українська

English

Українська

Appearance

Backend Setup ​

Prerequisites ​

  • PHP 8.3+
  • Composer
  • Docker Desktop (for PostgreSQL)

Environment ​

Backend env file: backend/.env

Required database values for Laravel:

DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=techtutor
DB_USERNAME=techtutor_user
DB_PASSWORD=techtutor_pass

Required values for Docker Postgres service (read through Compose env file):

POSTGRES_DB=techtutor
POSTGRES_USER=techtutor_user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=techtutor_pass

Optional mail values for email notifications:

env
MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls
MAIL_USERNAME=your-mailbox@example.com
MAIL_PASSWORD=your-app-password
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=your-mailbox@example.com
MAIL_FROM_NAME=TechTutor

Use an app password for Gmail SMTP. Do not commit real mail credentials.

Start Database ​

From project root:

bash
docker compose up -d

Postgres data is persisted under:

  • backend/database/data

Install and Run Backend ​

From backend:

bash
composer install
php artisan key:generate
php artisan migrate
php artisan db:seed
php artisan serve

Seeded Demo Accounts ​

After php artisan migrate --seed or composer db:fresh, these local demo accounts are available (password: password):

  • admin@techtutor.test — admin
  • backend@techtutor.test — instructor (backend course owner)
  • frontend@techtutor.test — instructor (frontend course owner)
  • ml@techtutor.test — instructor (ml course owner)
  • devops@techtutor.test — instructor (devops course owner)
  • student@techtutor.test — student (enrolled in seeded courses)
  • student2@techtutor.test — student (additional student)
  • banned@techtutor.test — banned student (for ban enforcement tests)

Shared password for all demo accounts:

txt
password

Useful Commands ​

bash
php artisan migrate:fresh --seed
composer cleanup
composer cleanup:optimize
composer start:fresh
composer start:fresh:seed
php artisan test
vendor/bin/pint

Cleanup ​

bash
composer cleanup

Clears Laravel’s compiled and runtime caches to restore a clean application state.

Internally runs:

  • php artisan optimize:clear
  • php artisan config:clear
  • php artisan cache:clear
  • php artisan route:clear
  • php artisan view:clear
  • php artisan event:clear

Use this after:

  • changing .env values
  • pulling new branches
  • dependency updates
  • encountering unexpected cached behavior during local development

Cleanup + Optimize ​

bash
composer cleanup:optimize

Runs the standard cleanup and then rebuilds optimized caches using:

  • php artisan optimize

This is useful when you want a clean but fully optimized local state.

Reset Database Quickly ​

First-start cleanup and migrate from backend:

bash
composer start:fresh

This runs the cleanup command and then executes database migrations.

First-start cleanup, migrate, and seed from backend:

bash
composer start:fresh:seed

This performs the same cleanup, then runs a fresh migration and seeds the database.

Soft reset from backend:

bash
composer db:fresh

This recreates all tables and reseeds the database, but keeps the Postgres data directory/container in place.

INFO

In this project, docker compose down -v alone does not fully wipe Postgres data because the database is stored in a bind-mounted folder at backend/database/data, not a named Docker volume.