Initial Setup

Once the TractStack installer finishes, your environment is scaffolded but requires a final build handshake to sync the frontend CSS with the backend templates.

1. Post-Installation Checklist

Immediately after the installer completes, verify your access points based on your mode:

Development Mode

• Frontend: http://localhost:4321
• Backend API: http://localhost:8080
• CMS Access: http://localhost:4321/storykeep (Admin / Password)

Production Mode

• Production URL: https://yourdomain.com
• Internal Astro Port: http://localhost:20000
• Internal Go Port: http://localhost:10000

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2. Triggering Builds via the Concierge

In production, you do not run pnpm build manually. The system uses a Build Concierge that watches the /home/t8k/state/ directory for triggers.

How it works

The t8k-build-watcher.path unit detects any file modification in the state directory and launches t8k-concierge.sh. To trigger a build, create a CSV-formatted file.

Example 1: Main Site (Single or Multi-tenant)

Use this if you are updating the primary project located at /home/t8k/src/my-tractstack.

# Run this as any user with write access to /home/t8k/state/
echo "type=main,tenant=default,command=build" > /home/t8k/state/main_build.csv

Example 2: Dedicated Instance

Use this if you have installed a separate site via the --dedicated SITE_ID flag. This will trigger a build for the project located at /home/t8k/sites/SITE_ID/src/my-tractstack.

# Replace 'mytenant' with your actual SITE_ID
echo "type=dedicated,site=mytenant,command=build" > /home/t8k/state/dedicated_build.csv

Manual Trigger

If you need to run the build immediately and watch the output for errors, you can bypass the watcher and run the concierge directly as the t8k user:

sudo -u t8k /home/t8k/scripts/t8k-concierge.sh

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3. Initial CMS Login

TractStack initializes with a default administrative account for immediate configuration:

• URL: /storykeep
• User: admin
• Password: password

Immediate Action: Navigate to the “Advanced” or “Users” section to change the admin password and generate a new JWT_SECRET in your env.json.

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Next: Configure your environment specifics in Environment Variables.