Keel

Docs / Getting Started / Setup

Setup

Keel is a Next.js app with a Postgres database behind it. Cloning the repo gets you the code; these five steps get you a running dashboard.

Clone and install

bash
git clone https://github.com/keel/keel orbit
cd orbit && pnpm install

Configure your environment

Copy the example env file and fill in the values for the services you're using. Nothing here is required to see the app run, auth and AI features just stay disabled until their keys are set.

bash
cp .env.example .env.local

Tip, start with the database only

You only strictly need DATABASE_URL to get the dashboard running locally. Stripe, Resend, and the AI provider keys can wait until you're ready to test those flows.

Run the migrations and seed data

bash
pnpm db:migrate && pnpm db:seed

This creates the schema and a demo account (demo@keel.dev) so you have something to log in with on the first run.

Start the dev server

bash
pnpm dev

Visit http://localhost:3000 for the marketing site, or http://localhost:3000/auth/sign-in to log in with the seeded demo account straight into the dashboard.

Edit this page on GitHub →Last updated Jul 19, 2026