Job Manager

A full-stack job-processing application with authenticated job management, live progress, and reliable background execution.

Overview

Job Manager lets users create and follow asynchronous jobs from a browser. The backend separates HTTP, job persistence, scheduling, and execution responsibilities, using a transactional outbox and BullMQ to hand work to background workers reliably.

Quick start

Prerequisites

• Docker Desktop with Docker Compose
• Node.js 26 and pnpm 11 only if you intend to run services outside Docker

1. Create your local environment file.

   cp .env.exmple .env

2. Set POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_PASSWORD, and BETTER_AUTH_SECRET in .env. Keep BETTER_AUTH_URL and CLIENT_URL aligned with the public addresses you use.

3. Start the stack.

   docker compose up --build

4. Open http://localhost:8080, register an account, and create a job.

Note

Compose runs database migrations before the dependent services start. The browser reaches the client on port 8080; the API gateway is exposed on 3000 by default.

To stop the stack, press Ctrl+C, then run docker compose down. Add -v only when you intentionally want to remove the local database volumes.

Repository layout

.
├── client/              # React single-page application
├── server/              # NestJS services, shared contracts, Prisma schemas
├── docker-compose.yml   # Complete local environment
└── .env.exmple          # Environment-variable template

See the component guides for application-specific commands and details:

• Client README
• Server README

Configuration

The included .env.exmple documents the variables used by Docker Compose. The essential values are:

Variable	Purpose
POSTGRES_USER / POSTGRES_PASSWORD	Credentials used for both PostgreSQL instances
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET	Secret used to secure authentication
BETTER_AUTH_URL	Public URL of the API/auth endpoints
CLIENT_URL	Public URL of the browser client, used as a trusted origin

Health checks

With the stack running, check the gateway at http://localhost:3000/health. Docker Compose also checks the auth and job services before starting their dependants.