Run J Thrust locally

Mac setup

1. Extract the ZIP

cd ~/Downloads/j-thrust

2. Start the backend

cd backend
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

3. Start the frontend

Open a second Terminal window:

cd ~/Downloads/j-thrust/frontend
npm install
npm run dev

4. Open the app

http://localhost:5173

Windows setup

1. Extract the ZIP

Open PowerShell in the extracted j-thrust folder.

2. Start the backend

cd backend
py -m venv venv
.\venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

If PowerShell blocks activation, run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

3. Start the frontend

Open a second PowerShell window:

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

4. Open the app

http://localhost:5173

Optional OpenAI setup

J Thrust runs without an OpenAI key. Without a key, the AI explanation button falls back to a safe local template.

Mac

export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
export OPENAI_MODEL="gpt-4.1-mini"
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

Windows PowerShell

$env:OPENAI_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
$env:OPENAI_MODEL="gpt-4.1-mini"
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000