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 3.13 or later
• uv (preferred) or pip
• Node.js 22 or later
• pnpm 11 or later (via corepack enable)

Setup

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

# Create the Python virtual environment and install runtime + dev deps.
# uv reads pyproject.toml + uv.lock and installs the PEP 735 `dev` group
# by default.
uv sync

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

# Run in development mode
uv run 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.