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Tract Stack | Build recipes + docs

Quick Start

Get TractStack up and running on your local machine in just a few minutes. This guide provides two paths to get started. Choose the one that works best for you.

  • Path 1: Docker (Recommended): The easiest way to start. Runs TractStack in a self-contained environment without needing to install Go or Node.js on your machine.
  • Path 2: Local Installation: For developers who want to set up the environment and edit the source code directly on their machine.
Section titled “Path 1: Docker Installation (Recommended)”

This method uses Docker to run the TractStack sandbox. The only prerequisite is to have Docker installed and running.

For Linux & macOS

Section titled “For Linux & macOS”

Copy and paste the following commands into your terminal.

1. Download and extract the Docker package

Section titled “1. Download and extract the Docker package”
Terminal window
curl -O https://get.tractstack.com/t8k-docker.tar.gz
tar -xzf t8k-docker.tar.gz
cd tractstack-docker

2. Build the Docker image

Section titled “2. Build the Docker image”
Terminal window
docker build -t tractstack-sandbox .

3. Run the container

Section titled “3. Run the container”
Terminal window
docker run -d --name my-tractstack-sandbox -p 4321:4321 -p 8080:8080 -v tractstack_data:/home/sandbox/t8k/t8k-go-server tractstack-sandbox

For Windows (PowerShell)

Section titled “For Windows (PowerShell)”

Copy and paste the following commands into your PowerShell terminal.

1. Download and extract the Docker package

Section titled “1. Download and extract the Docker package”
Terminal window
curl -OutFile t8k-docker.tar.gz https://get.tractstack.com/t8k-docker.tar.gz
tar -xzf t8k-docker.tar.gz
cd tractstack-docker

2. Build the Docker image

Section titled “2. Build the Docker image”
Terminal window
docker build -t tractstack-sandbox .

3. Run the container

Section titled “3. Run the container”
Terminal window
docker run -d --name my-tractstack-sandbox -p 4321:4321 -p 8080:8080 -v tractstack_data:/home/sandbox/t8k/t8k-go-server tractstack-sandbox

Access Your Site

Section titled “Access Your Site”

Once the container is running, your TractStack instance is ready.

For additional commands, such as viewing logs, stopping the container, or performing a full reset, please refer to the README.md file in the extracted folder.

Path 2: Local Installation

Section titled “Path 2: Local Installation”

Install the necessary dependencies and run the TractStack source code directly on your machine.

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”

Make sure you have these installed:

  • Go 1.22 or higher
  • Node.js 20 or higher (Node 24 is UNTESTED!! Use 20 or 22)
  • Git
  • npm

One-Line Installation

Section titled “One-Line Installation”

This command will download the source code, install dependencies, and set up a local development environment.

Terminal window
curl -fsSL https://get.tractstack.com | bash

Manual Installation

Section titled “Manual Installation”

If you prefer to download the installer first:

Terminal window
wget https://get.tractstack.com/t8k-install.sh
chmod +x t8k-install.sh
./t8k-install.sh --quick

Starting TractStack

Section titled “Starting TractStack”

After installation, you’ll need two terminal windows.

Terminal 1: Start the Go Backend

Terminal window
cd ~/t8k/src/tractstack-go
./tractstack-go

Terminal 2: Start the Astro Frontend

Terminal window
cd ~/t8k/src/my-tractstack
pnpm dev

Access Your Site

Section titled “Access Your Site”

Open your browser and go to:

http://localhost:4321

You should see your TractStack site running!

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”