> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/trailbaseio/trailbase/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Quickstart
> Get TrailBase up and running in 5 minutes
Get your TrailBase backend server running and create your first API in under 5 minutes.
## Install TrailBase
```bash Linux & MacOS theme={null}
curl -sSL https://trailbase.io/install.sh | bash
```
```bash Windows theme={null}
iwr https://trailbase.io/install.ps1 | iex
```
```bash Docker theme={null}
docker run -p 4000:4000 trailbase/trailbase /app/trail run
```
The install script downloads the latest release binary and adds it to your PATH. For more installation options, see the [Installation Guide](/installation).
## Start the Server
Run TrailBase with a single command:
```bash theme={null}
trail run
```
On first start, TrailBase will:
* Create a `./traildepot` directory for data and configuration
* Initialize a SQLite database
* Create an admin user with credentials printed to the terminal
* Start the server on `http://localhost:4000`
Save the admin credentials displayed in the terminal - you'll need them to access the dashboard.
## Access the Admin Dashboard
Open [http://localhost:4000/\_/admin/](http://localhost:4000/_/admin/) in your browser and log in with the credentials from the previous step.
The admin dashboard lets you:
* Create and manage database tables
* Configure Record APIs with access rules
* Manage users and authentication
* View logs and monitor your server
## Create Your First Table
Let's create a simple "posts" table for a blog:
In the admin dashboard, go to **Schema** → **Tables** and click **Create Table**.
Create a table with the following columns:
```sql theme={null}
CREATE TABLE posts (
id BLOB PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT (uuid_v7()) NOT NULL,
created INTEGER DEFAULT (unixepoch()) NOT NULL,
updated INTEGER DEFAULT (unixepoch()) NOT NULL,
title TEXT NOT NULL,
content TEXT NOT NULL,
author_id BLOB REFERENCES _user(id),
published INTEGER DEFAULT 0 NOT NULL
) STRICT;
```
Click **Execute** to create the table.
Go to **APIs** → **Record APIs** and click **Create API**:
* **Table**: `posts`
* **Name**: `posts`
* **Read Access**: Public (for now)
* **Create Access**: Authenticated
* **Update/Delete Access**: Owner only
Click **Save**.
## Test Your API
Your posts API is now live! Test it with curl:
### List all posts
```bash theme={null}
curl http://localhost:4000/api/records/v1/posts
```
### Create a post (requires authentication)
First, create a user and get an auth token:
```bash theme={null}
# Register a new user
curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/api/auth/v1/register \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"email":"user@example.com","password":"secretpassword"}'
# Login to get a token
curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/api/auth/v1/login \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"email":"user@example.com","password":"secretpassword"}'
```
Then create a post using the auth token:
```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/api/records/v1/posts \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE" \
-d '{
"title": "My First Post",
"content": "Hello from TrailBase!",
"published": 1
}'
```
### Query posts
```bash theme={null}
# Get a specific post
curl http://localhost:4000/api/records/v1/posts/POST_ID_HERE
# Filter published posts
curl "http://localhost:4000/api/records/v1/posts?published[eq]=1"
# Search by title
curl "http://localhost:4000/api/records/v1/posts?title[like]=%First%"
```
## Use a Client SDK
Instead of raw HTTP requests, use one of TrailBase's client libraries:
```bash theme={null}
npm install trailbase
```
```typescript theme={null}
import { TrailBase } from 'trailbase';
const client = new TrailBase('http://localhost:4000');
// Login
await client.login('user@example.com', 'secretpassword');
// Create a post
const post = await client.createRecord('posts', {
title: 'My First Post',
content: 'Hello from TrailBase!',
published: 1
});
// List posts
const posts = await client.listRecords('posts', {
filter: { published: { eq: 1 } }
});
```
```bash theme={null}
pip install trailbase
```
```python theme={null}
from trailbase import TrailBase
client = TrailBase('http://localhost:4000')
# Login
client.login('user@example.com', 'secretpassword')
# Create a post
post = client.create_record('posts', {
'title': 'My First Post',
'content': 'Hello from TrailBase!',
'published': 1
})
# List posts
posts = client.list_records('posts', filter={'published': {'eq': 1}})
```
```bash theme={null}
flutter pub add trailbase
```
```dart theme={null}
import 'package:trailbase/trailbase.dart';
final client = TrailBase('http://localhost:4000');
// Login
await client.login('user@example.com', 'secretpassword');
// Create a post
final post = await client.createRecord('posts', {
'title': 'My First Post',
'content': 'Hello from TrailBase!',
'published': 1
});
// List posts
final posts = await client.listRecords('posts',
filter: {'published': {'eq': 1}}
);
```
## Enable Realtime Subscriptions
Subscribe to live updates on your posts table:
```typescript theme={null}
const unsubscribe = await client.subscribe('posts', {
onCreate: (record) => console.log('New post:', record),
onUpdate: (record) => console.log('Updated:', record),
onDelete: (id) => console.log('Deleted:', id)
});
```
Any changes to the posts table will trigger your callbacks in realtime!
## Next Steps
Complete tutorial building a full application
Learn about schema design and migrations
Add user auth with OAuth providers
Explore the complete REST API