Run a local server

Build Dark Pawns from a checkout, point it at the original world files, and connect through telnet or the local web client.

Build a disposable server from a Git checkout when you're working on the Go engine or testing world files. Unlike the 1999 C tree, you won't have to blow away clan.c to get the damn thing to compile: one go build gives you a self-contained binary with embedded SQLite, the original Diku world files, and the web client.

This flow shows how the checkout becomes a running local world.

Before you start

Install the Go version declared in go.mod.
No external database service. The server keeps player data in a single embedded SQLite file created on first boot (lib/data/darkpawns.db by default). Pass -db or set DP_SQLITE_PATH to put it somewhere else. PostgreSQL isn't a runtime backend: passing a postgres:// address stops startup with an error.
The repository's lib/world/ directory, which holds the original rooms, mobs, objects, shops, and zones.

Build

git clone https://github.com/zax0rz/darkpawns.git
cd darkpawns
go build -o server ./cmd/server

Configure and start

Development mode can generate a temporary JWT secret on startup, which invalidates browser sessions every time you restart the binary. For repeatable local runs, generate a secret once with openssl rand -hex 32 and export it in JWT_SECRET:

export ENVIRONMENT=development
export JWT_SECRET="<paste the 64 hex characters from openssl rand -hex 32>"
./server

When you run ./server from the repository root, no flags are required: it reads the world from lib/world, serves the web client from web/public, and writes SQLite data to lib/data/darkpawns.db. To keep a scratch database outside lib/data/, pass -db or DP_SQLITE_PATH:

mkdir -p .local/development-world
./server -db .local/development-world/darkpawns.db
# or: export DP_SQLITE_PATH=.local/development-world/darkpawns.db

A boot that creates a brand-new database logs a warning so you can tell a fresh file apart from an existing world.

The HTTP and WebSocket server listens on -port (default 4350); raw telnet listens on -telnet-port (default 7777). Pass -telnet-port 0 to disable raw telnet.

Connect

telnet localhost 7777

The browser client runs at http://localhost:4350/ and connects over ws://localhost:4350/ws.

A new Guest at the Temple Altar in the web client, with the connection status and vitals below the game text.

The capture above comes from a disposable world on a test port; your local checkout uses localhost:4350.

Did it work?

The startup log reports the listening ports, and connecting via telnet or http://localhost:4350/ brings up the Dark Pawns login banner. The admin console lives on the same HTTP port at http://localhost:4350/admin/.

If it didn't work

Startup rejects JWT_SECRET. Generate 32 random bytes as hex (openssl rand -hex 32) and export the 64-character string without angle brackets.
The browser client can't connect. Check the startup log for the HTTP port and the /ws WebSocket route; -port changes both.
Startup says the database is unavailable. Unset DP_ALLOW_NO_DB and point -db at a writable directory.

Verify a development checkout

Before committing any code change, format with make fmt and run the verification gates separately:

go build ./...
go vet ./...
go test ./...
golangci-lint run ./...

For C-oracle differential testing, see Port fidelity workflow.