Getting Started

Getting Started with Apollo Universal Starter Kit

In this section, you'll install Apollo Universal Starter Kit on your development machine and run the project for web or mobile development.

• For the list of technologies that were used in this starter kit, consult README.md
• For the list of available features, consult the Features and Modules Wiki section

Follow the links below to read the installation sections you may be interested in:

1. Installing and Running Apollo Universal Starter Kit
2. Running a Mobile App with Expo
3. Running the Starter Kit in a Mobile Simulator
   • Android Studio
   • Genymotion
   • Xcode
4. Running Apollo Universal Starter Kit with Docker
   • Running the Starter Kit using Docker for Development
   • Running the Starter Kit using Docker for Production
5. Deploying Apollo Starter Kit App to Production
   • Deploying to Linux Running Node.js
   • Publishing a Mobile App
   • Building a Standalone Mobile App for Google Play or App Store
   • Deploying to Heroku

Installing and Running Apollo Universal Starter Kit

1. Use Node.js 6.x or higher (Node.js 8.x is recommended).

2. Clone the stable branch of Apollo Universal Starter Kit.

git clone -b stable https://github.com/sysgears/apollo-universal-starter-kit.git
cd apollo-universal-starter-kit

3. Install the dependencies. Make sure that you use Yarn 1.0.0 or higher; you can also use NPM instead of Yarn.

yarn

Or run:

npm install

4. Seed sample data to the database. The command below will create new tables with sample data in SQLite:

yarn seed

5. Run the starter kit in development mode:

yarn watch

Note: If you want to run the project on an Android or iOS device, check out the Running a React Native App with Expo and Running the Starter Kit in a Mobile Simulator sections.

After running yarn watch, your default browser will automatically open at http://localhost:3000/. You can start changing the application code, and the changes will be applied immediately thanks to live reloading. You can also open the app in multiple tabs and test it: Increase the counter or add a new post or comment, and you'll see that all opened tabs are updated simultaneously.

Running a Mobile App with Expo

1. Install the Expo app on your Android or iOS device.

2. Change the application properties in the packages/mobile/.spinrc.js configuration file to run the app on your Android or iOS device.

   • Set config.builders.android.enabled to true to run the app on an Android device.
   • Set config.builders.ios.enabled to true to run the app on an iPhone or iPad.

Example:

const url = require('url');

const config = {
  builders: {
    android: {
      entry: './src/index.ts',
      buildDir: 'build/android',
      dllBuildDir: 'build/android/dll',
      stack: ['react-native', 'android'],
      defines: {
        __CLIENT__: true
      },
      enabled: false // Set to true to run the app on Android
    },
    ios: {
      entry: './src/index.ts',
      buildDir: 'build/ios',
      dllBuildDir: 'build/ios/dll',
      stack: ['react-native', 'ios'],
      defines: {
        __CLIENT__: true
      },
      enabled: false // Set to true to run the app on iOS
    },
  //...other configurations are omitted.

3. Launch the project:

yarn watch

NOTE: It may take up to a minute to build the mobile version of the app. The next runs will be much faster.

4. Scan the QR codes using the Expo app on your Android or iOS device.

NOTE: If you're running the kit for Android and iOS development at the same time, you must scan the first QR code with an iOS device, and the second QR code with an Android device.

Running the Starter Kit in a Mobile Simulator

Android Studio

1. Install and launch Android Studio.
2. On the Tools menu, click AVD Manager and configure your virtual smartphone.
3. Choose a device from the list in Select Hardware. Click the Next button.
4. Choose a system image from the list. You can open the x86 Images tab and install the suitable image.

Note: We recommend installing the Lollipop x86_64 API image. With this low-level API, the emulator will work more rapidly than with other APIs.

5. Open the ~/.bashrc file in your favorite text editor and add the following line:

export PATH="/home/username/Android/Sdk/platform-tools:$PATH"

NOTE: Use the username on you development machine instead of the /username/ part in the PATH.

This line will add the ~/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/ directory into PATH and allow Expo (inside the starter kit) to use the adb instance from the Android SDK. Put simply, the Expo client will be automatically installed and run in the simulator when you run the project.

6. Launch your virtual phone from AVD Manager.
7. Launch the starter kit with yarn watch.

Note: If you're launching the starter kit for the first time, you may need to first run yarn seed to generate sample data. After that, you can start the app with yarn watch.

8. The Expo app will automatically start. You don't need to install the Expo client on the virtual phone.

Note: It may take up to a minute or two to run the application on Android for the first time. The next runs will be much more rapid.

Genymotion

1. Downloading and install Genymotion.
2. Install VirtualBox.
3. Create a new emulator and start it.
4. After starting the server, the Expo app will start on it's own.
5. To bring up the developer menu, press ⌘ + M on your keyboard.

If you are using Genymotion, on the Settings menu select ADB. Then select Use custom Android SDK tools, and add the path to your Android SDK directory.

Xcode

1. Install Xcode.
2. Install the Command Line Tools for Xcode:

xcode-select --install

3. Launch Xcode, on the Preferences menu, click Components.
4. Install a necessary simulator from the list.
5. Run the starter kit:

yarn watch

Simulator will start automatically and open the app in Expo. To bring up the developer menu, press ⌘ + D on your keyboard.

Note: If the iOS simulator fails to start the Expo client or the app, try resetting the simulator:

• On the Hardware menu, click Erase all content and settings.
• Restart the application.

Running Apollo Universal Starter Kit with Docker

Get the latest versions of Docker and Docker Compose before running Apollo Universal Starter Kit with Docker.

Running the Starter Kit using Docker for Development

To run the starter kit in development mode with live code reloading, run:

docker-compose up

NOTE: It may take a couple of minutes to run the application with Docker Compose for the first time.

When the build is ready, visit http://localhost:3000 in your browser to view the application.

If you need to launch the project in Expo in a simulator (Android Studio or Xcode), follow the steps below:

1. Open the Expo app.
2. Tap Explore.
3. Tap the magnifier on the top.
4. Enter the URL exp://localhost:19000 or exp://000.00.0.0:19000 (use your actual IP address instead of 000.00.0.0. The starter kit will suggest the LAN IP address that you need to use to open the mobile app in a simulator.)
5. Tap the pop up to open the app.

NOTE: If you want to open the app on a cell phone, use the LAN IP address of your development machine instead of localhost in Expo. Scanning the QR codes won't work in this case.

Running the Starter Kit using Docker for Production

To run the starter kit in production mode with Docker Compose, execute:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up

After that, open URL http://localhost:3000 in the browser to view the application.

Deploying Apollo Starter Kit Application to Production

Deploying to Linux Running Node.js

1. Clone the latest stable starter kit.

git clone -b stable https://github.com/sysgears/apollo-universal-starter-kit.git
cd apollo-universal-starter-kit

2. Install dependencies:

yarn

3. Seed production database data:

NODE_ENV=production yarn seed

4. Set proper values for config.options.defines.__SERVER_PORT__ and config.options.defines.__WEBSITE_URL__ in packages/server/.spinrc.js to match your production setup.

5. If you need to run the mobile app, edit the following lines in packages/mobile/.spinrc.js:

// Other configurations for the mobile app are omitted for brevity

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  // Other settings are omitted for brevity
  // Change the following two line
  config.options.defines.__API_URL__ = '"https://apollo-universal-starter-kit.herokuapp.com/graphql"';
  config.options.defines.__WEBSITE_URL__ = '"https://apollo-universal-starter-kit.herokuapp.com"';
  // Other settings are omitted for brevity
}

If you are deploying on Heroku without a custom domain name, the production URLs may look like this:

// code is omitted for brevity
config.options.defines.__API_URL__ = '"https://<AppName>.herokuapp.com/graphql"';
config.options.defines.__WEBSITE_URL__ = '"https://<AppName>.herokuapp.com"';
// code is omitted for brevity

5. Compile the project:

yarn build

6. Run the project in production mode:

yarn start

Publishing a Mobile App

1. Compile your project for production:

yarn build

2. Run the following command:

yarn exp publish

Building a Standalone Mobile App for Google Play or App Store

1. Compile your project for production:

yarn build

2. Run the command below to build a signed .apk for Android:

yarn exp ba

You need to run the command below to build a signed .iap for iOS:

yarn exp bi

3. Run yarn exp bs to get status and links for signed standalone mobile applications when the build finishes. For more details refer to Building Standalone Apps in the Expo documentation, but use yarn exp .. instead of exp ... command.

Deploying to Heroku

1. Add your app to Heroku (follow to the Deploying a Node.js app tutorial for more information).
2. Open your Dashboard and choose your application. You will need to allow Heroku to install build time dependencies from the devDependencies in package.json.
3. Under the Settings tab, click Config Variables and then click Add.
4. Set KEY to YARN_PRODUCTION and VALUE to false.
5. Add the EXP_USERNAME and EXP_PASSWORD config variables from Expo. These variables will be used to publish your mobile Expo applications.
6. Set proper values for server port and website url in packages/server/.spinrc.js to match your production setup.

In order for the mobile Expo app to connect to the back-end URL, edit packages/mobile/.spinrc.js and change these lines:

// Other configurations for the mobile app are omitted for brevity

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  // Other settings are omitted for brevity
  // Change the following two line
  config.options.defines.__API_URL__ = '"https://apollo-universal-starter-kit.herokuapp.com/graphql"';
  config.options.defines.__WEBSITE_URL__ = '"https://apollo-universal-starter-kit.herokuapp.com"';
  // Other settings are omitted for brevity
}

If you are deploying your app on Heroku without a custom domain name, the production URLs will look like this:

config.options.defines.__API_URL__ = '"https://<AppName>.herokuapp.com/graphql"';
config.options.defines.__WEBSITE_URL__ = '"https://<AppName>.herokuapp.com"';

7. Deploy your app on Heroku.