Getting started

Install Openfront Restaurant, create your first admin user, and seed a demo restaurant.

If you want the shortest path to a working restaurant, this is it. The app can be running in a few minutes, and the onboarding flow can seed menu data, kitchen stations, floors, sections, tables, and payment providers for you.

What you need

Node.js 20 or newer
PostgreSQL
A SESSION_SECRET that is at least 32 characters long
Stripe keys if you want card checkout on day one

You can explore most of the platform without Stripe, but the storefront card flow and Stripe-based payment screens will not complete until Stripe is configured.

Install and boot the project

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/openshiporg/openfront-restaurant.git
cd openfront-restaurant

Install dependencies

npm install

Add your environment variables

Create a .env file in the project root.

# Required
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/openfront_restaurant"
SESSION_SECRET="replace-this-with-a-long-random-string-of-32-chars-or-more"

# Recommended for storefront and card payments
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY="sk_test_..."
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET="whsec_..."
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_KEY="pk_test_..."
STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY="pk_test_..."

# Optional PayPal adapter setup
NEXT_PUBLIC_PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID="your-paypal-client-id"
PAYPAL_CLIENT_SECRET="your-paypal-client-secret"
PAYPAL_WEBHOOK_ID="your-paypal-webhook-id"
NEXT_PUBLIC_PAYPAL_SANDBOX="true"

# Optional AI assistant
OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..."
OPENROUTER_MODEL="anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet"
OPENROUTER_MAX_TOKENS="4000"

# Optional customer self-signup
PUBLIC_SIGNUPS_ALLOWED="true"

# Optional file storage
S3_BUCKET_NAME="your-bucket"
S3_REGION="us-east-1"
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-key"
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="your-secret"
S3_ENDPOINT="https://your-s3-endpoint"

# Optional email
SMTP_FROM="no-reply@example.com"
SMTP_HOST="smtp.example.com"
SMTP_PORT="587"
SMTP_USER="smtp-user"
SMTP_PASSWORD="smtp-password"
SMTP_STORE_LINK="http://localhost:3000"

Start the app

npm run dev

This command builds the Keystone schema, applies migrations, and starts the Next.js dev server.

Create your first admin and seed the restaurant

Create the initial user

If the database is empty, go to:

http://localhost:3000/dashboard/init

Create your first admin account there.

After the first user exists, the main dashboard lives at:

http://localhost:3000/dashboard

Run onboarding

The sidebar includes onboarding cards for a fresh install. Use that flow to seed:

store settings
menu categories and items
modifiers
kitchen stations
floors, sections, and tables
payment providers

The seed data is restaurant-specific and lives in features/platform/onboarding/lib/seed.json.

Open the key surfaces

Once onboarding finishes, you can jump straight into the main workflows:

Storefront: http://localhost:3000/
POS: http://localhost:3000/dashboard/platform/pos
Service floor: http://localhost:3000/dashboard/platform/service-floor
KDS: http://localhost:3000/dashboard/platform/kds
Reports: http://localhost:3000/dashboard/platform/reports

What gets created during onboarding

The out-of-the-box seed is intentionally practical. It gives you a burger-restaurant setup with:

branded store settings and hours
kitchen stations like Grill, Fryer, Salad, Bar, Dessert, and Prep
a main floor plus sections
a table layout with capacities and coordinates
featured items, burgers, chicken, sides, drinks, and desserts
Stripe, PayPal, and manual payment-provider records

That is enough to test the storefront, POS, KDS, reports, and floor workflows without building everything from scratch.

Good first checks after boot

Check the storefront

Open the homepage and confirm you can:

browse categories
open an item customization modal
add items to the bag
open the checkout modal

Check the staff tools

Open the dashboard and make sure you can:

create a POS order
see it in Orders
sync it into the KDS
move through the payment screen

Check localization

If you changed currency, locale, or timezone in store settings, confirm those changes show up in:

storefront prices
payment screens
reports
footer hours

Common setup mistakes

Short SESSION_SECRET: the app expects a secret with at least 32 characters.
Missing Stripe publishable key: the checkout modal reads NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_KEY, and some storefront components still fall back to STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY, so set both.
No store settings: the storefront depends on the singleton StoreSettings record. Onboarding is the easiest way to create it.
Expecting PayPal parity on day one: the adapter is in the codebase, but Stripe is the safer first launch path today.

openfront