Four ways to run your restaurant on PaynEat POS

1. Install and open Docker Desktop

   Don’t have it? Download it from docker.com, install it and open it. Wait until the bottom-left corner says Engine running.

2. Open PowerShell

   Press the Windows key, type PowerShell and press Enter.

3. Paste this line and press Enter

   Press Copy in the corner of the box, then right-click inside PowerShell to paste.

   PowerShell

   [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = 3072; iex ((New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://github.com/SuruchBoss/PaynEat/releases/download/demo/install-demo.ps1'))

4. Wait, then sign in

   Your browser opens http://localhost:8080 by itself. Sign in with admin / admin123, or tap a demo account button on the sign-in screen.

✅PowerShell prints PaynEat is ready: http://localhost:8080 in green and the browser shows the sign-in screen.

⚠️ Set up for trying it out only (demo accounts, simulated scale, emails never really sent), and it opens on this PC only — to let the restaurant’s phones and tablets connect, use way 3. Want to read what the script does first? install-demo.ps1

1. Download the code

   Easiest: download the ZIP and extract it — you get a folder called PaynEat-main. If you have git, this works too:

   Terminal

   git clone https://github.com/SuruchBoss/PaynEat.git

2. Find this computer’s IP address

   Windows: open PowerShell, type ipconfig and look for IPv4 Address. Mac/Linux: ifconfig | grep inet. It looks like 192.168.1.15.

3. Set the server secret

   Create a file named .env in the code folder (next to docker-compose.yml) containing a JWT_SECRET= line with your own random value. Without it the system does not start and explains how to set it. On Mac/Linux use the command below; in Windows PowerShell use ("JWT_SECRET=" + [guid]::NewGuid().ToString("N") + [guid]::NewGuid().ToString("N")) | Out-File -Encoding ascii .env.

   Terminal (Mac/Linux)

   echo "JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env

4. Tell the app where the server is

   Add this line to the same .env file, using your own IP. Skip this step if only this computer will use it.

   .env

   API_BASE_URL=http://192.168.1.15:3000

5. Start it

   Open a terminal (Windows: PowerShell) in the code folder and run this. The first time takes 5–10 minutes while the app is built.

   Terminal

   docker compose up --build

6. Open it on every device

   On the same Wi-Fi, open http://192.168.1.15:8080 (your IP) on phones, tablets or the kitchen screen. On the server itself, http://localhost:8080 works.

✅The terminal shows payneat-api and payneat-web, and http://localhost:3000/health answers.

💡 Another device can’t open it? Check it’s on the same Wi-Fi and that the server’s firewall allows ports 8080 and 3000. Before staff use it for real, go through the go-live checklist.

1. Get the code

   Terminal

   git clone https://github.com/SuruchBoss/PaynEat.git
   cd PaynEat

2. Window 1 — the server

   .env holds a JWT_SECRET for local use; without it the server refuses to start (on Windows use copy instead of cp). The database and sample data are created for you.

   Terminal 1

   cd backend
   npm install
   cp .env.example .env
   npm run dev

3. Window 2 — the app

   Open a new window and keep the first one running.

   Terminal 2

   cd app
   flutter pub get
   flutter run -d chrome

✅Window 1 prints a line with PaynEat POS API listening on http://localhost:3000 and Chrome opens the sign-in screen.

Architecture, the API and every test are described in the README.

1. Set a second location on another disk

   The first copy is on the same disk as the database, so a failed disk loses both. Plug in a USB drive or use a folder on a NAS in the shop, add this line to backend/.env (with your folder) and restart the server

   backend/.env (running from code)

   BACKUP_COPY_DIR=E:\PaynEat-backup

2. Docker: keep the second copy outside the container

   Uncomment - /mnt/usb-backup/payneat:/backup-copy under volumes: of api in docker-compose.yml (change the part before : to your folder; on Linux let uid 1000 write to it: sudo chown 1000:1000 /mnt/usb-backup/payneat), add this line to .env, then run docker compose up -d

   .env (Docker)

   BACKUP_COPY_DIR=/backup-copy

3. Make one backup to check

   Sign in as the admin, open Settings → Backups and press Back up now. Both locations should show a green tick

4. Restoring: stop the server first

   The restore command refuses to run while the server is up · From code: press Ctrl+C in the server window · Docker: run this in the code folder

   Terminal (Docker)

   docker compose stop api

5. Pick the file to restore

   The name says when and why, e.g. payneat-2026-09-29T221530+0700-shift-close.sqlite is the one after the 22:15 shift close on the 29th · From code: look in backend/data/backups · Docker: list them with this command

   Terminal (Docker)

   docker compose run --rm api ls data/backups

6. Restore it

   From code: cd backend, then npm run db:restore -- data/backups/<file name> · Docker: the command below · PaynEat checks the file first and always keeps the current data as a pre-restore file, so a wrong pick can be undone

   Terminal (Docker)

   docker compose run --rm api npm run db:restore -- data/backups/payneat-2026-09-29T221530+0700-shift-close.sqlite

7. Start the server again

   From code: npm start (or npm run dev) · Docker: the command below

   Terminal (Docker)

   docker compose start api

✅The restore command prints Restored … from … with the name of the pre-restore file, and the Audit Log shows Restore from a backup

🔒 A backup holds customer phone numbers and staff password hashes. Keep the USB drive somewhere locked and never share or upload it to a cloud · One-line Windows installer (demo): use the same Docker commands in PowerShell, adding -f "$env:USERPROFILE\PaynEat-Demo\docker-compose.yml" after docker compose