Requirements
What you need on your machine and in your accounts before you start.
Local machine
| Requirement | Version | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js | 20.9 or newer (22 recommended) | Next.js 16 |
| pnpm | 10 or newer | This is a pnpm workspace — npm/yarn/bun lockfiles will fight pnpm-lock.yaml |
| MongoDB | 6+, local or Atlas | Atlas free tier (M0, 512 MB) is enough to start |
check
node -v # v22.x
npm i -g pnpm
pnpm -v # 11.xAccounts
MongoDB and one image provider are required. Everything else switches on when its keys are present and degrades with a clear message when they are not.
| Service | Needed for | Without it |
|---|---|---|
| MongoDB Atlas (or local) | Everything | — |
| ImageKit or Cloudinary (free plans) | Loading the demo store, and every image upload from the dashboard | pnpm run seed stops and says which keys to add |
| Stripe | Card payments | Cash-on-delivery checkout works; the card option is disabled |
| Google, Facebook, GitHub, X, LinkedIn | Social sign-in buttons | Only the configured providers show; email/password always works |
| SMTP | Order and password-reset emails | Emails are skipped and logged |
Shared media account?Using one ImageKit or Cloudinary account for several projects? Every Grovia upload goes under a root folder (
grovia/ by default, MEDIA_ROOT_FOLDER), so it never mixes with your other files.