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Install from Source

For contributor work, or to run Houndarr outside Docker, build from a local Python checkout. End users should prefer Install with Docker Compose or Install on Unraid; this page is for development.

Prerequisites​

  • Python 3.12 or later
  • pip
  • Node.js 22 or later
  • pnpm (via corepack enable)

Setup​

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/av1155/houndarr.git
cd houndarr

# Create a Python virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install --upgrade pip
.venv/bin/pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
.venv/bin/pip install -e .

# Compile the Tailwind + daisyUI CSS bundle
corepack enable
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm run build-css

# Run in development mode
.venv/bin/python -m houndarr --data-dir ./data-dev --dev

The dev server listens on http://localhost:8877.

Rebuild the CSS bundle​

Re-run pnpm run build-css after pulling commits that change src/houndarr/static/css/ or src/houndarr/templates/. Houndarr refuses to start without the compiled bundle and prints the same command in the log.

Development mode​

Passing --dev (or setting HOUNDARR_DEV=true) enables:

  • Auto-reload on code changes
  • The FastAPI Swagger UI at /api/docs

Do not run with --dev in production; Swagger exposes every endpoint to unauthenticated readers.