Get Open Notebook running locally in 5 minutes.
- Python 3.11+
- Git
- uv (package manager) - install with
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh - Docker (optional, for SurrealDB)
# Fork the repository on GitHub first, then clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/open-notebook.git
cd open-notebook
# Add upstream remote for updates
git remote add upstream https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook.git# Install Python dependencies
uv sync
# Verify uv is working
uv --versionIn separate terminal windows:
# Terminal 1: Start SurrealDB (database)
make database
# or: docker run -d --name surrealdb -p 8000:8000 surrealdb/surrealdb:v2 start --user root --pass password --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 memory
# Terminal 2: Start API (backend on port 5055)
make api
# or: uv run --env-file .env uvicorn api.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 5055
# Terminal 3: Start Frontend (UI on port 3000)
cd frontend && npm run dev- API Health: http://localhost:5055/health → should return
{"status": "ok"} - API Docs: http://localhost:5055/docs → interactive API documentation
- Frontend: http://localhost:3000 → Open Notebook UI
All three show up? ✅ You're ready to develop!
- First Issue? Pick a good first issue
- Understand the code? Read Architecture Overview
- Make changes? Follow Contributing Guide
- Setup details? See Development Setup
# Find what's using the port
lsof -i :5055
# Use a different port
uv run uvicorn api.main:app --port 5056# Check if SurrealDB is running
docker ps | grep surrealdb
# Restart it
make database# Check your Python version
python --version # Should be 3.11+
# Use Python 3.11 specifically
uv sync --python 3.11# Install Node.js from https://nodejs.org/
# Then install frontend dependencies
cd frontend && npm install# Run tests
uv run pytest
# Format code
make ruff
# Type checking
make lint
# Run the full stack
make start-all
# View API documentation
open http://localhost:5055/docsNeed more help? See Development Setup for details or join our Discord.