Installation

Prerequisites

• Bun v1.3+
• Node.js v20+ (required by some dependencies)
• A Convex account
• A valid RED license key

Scaffold a new project

The create-red-app CLI validates your license, downloads the latest stable release, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, and extracts a ready-to-use project:

bun create red-app my-saas --license YOUR_LICENSE_KEY
cd my-saas
bun install

You can also use bunx or npx:

bunx create-red-app my-saas --license YOUR_LICENSE_KEY
npx create-red-app my-saas --license YOUR_LICENSE_KEY

The license key can also be read from the RED_LICENSE_KEY environment variable or a .red-license file in the current directory.

To pin a specific version:

bun create red-app my-saas --license YOUR_LICENSE_KEY --version 1.0.0-rc.2

Initialize the starter kit

After scaffolding, open Claude Code and run the interactive setup wizard to configure your project name, domain model, authentication mode, and optional modules:

cd my-saas
claude
/red-init

See Initialize Your Project for a detailed walkthrough of all configuration options.

Configure environment

The /red-init skill handles the first Convex setup path. If you skipped Convex during initialization, run:

bunx convex dev --once

Make sure .env.local contains VITE_CONVEX_URL and VITE_CONVEX_SITE_URL. Vite only exposes frontend variables with the VITE_ prefix.

Set service credentials as Convex environment variables when you need the related feature:

npx convex env set RESEND_API_KEY <your-key>
npx convex env set AI_GATEWAY_KEY <your-key>

Billing credentials depend on your Autumn and Stripe setup. See Billing when enabling paid plans.

Run the development servers

# Start everything (frontend + backend)
bun run dev

# Or start individually
bun run dev:web      # Frontend only
bun run dev:backend  # Backend only

The web app runs on http://localhost:5173 by default.

Seed data

To create the development global admin and default organization:

bun run seed

The command prints the credentials it created.