Setup

Docker Deployment (Recommended)

The trade backend is published as the Docker image lthn/trade-api:testnet. It requires a running Lethean daemon, wallet RPC, and a PostgreSQL instance.

docker-compose.yml

services:
  trade-api:
    image: lthn/trade-api:testnet
    ports:
      - "3336:3336"
    environment:
      PORT: "3336"
      PGUSER: "postgres"
      PGPASSWORD: "strong-password-here"
      PGHOST: "postgres"
      PGDATABASE: "lethean_trade"
      PGPORT: "5432"
      JWT_SECRET: "change-me-to-a-real-secret"
      OWNER_ALIAS: "admin"
      DAEMON_RPC_URL: "http://daemon:46941/json_rpc"
      WALLET_RPC_URL: "http://wallet:46944/json_rpc"
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - daemon

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "strong-password-here"
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  daemon:
    image: lthn/chain:testnet
    # Exposes RPC on port 46941 (testnet) / 36941 (mainnet)

volumes:
  pgdata:

Required Services

Service	Purpose	Default Port
PostgreSQL	Order book, users, transactions, chat storage	5432
Lethean Daemon	Asset discovery, chain queries	46941 (testnet) / 36941 (mainnet)
Lethean Wallet RPC	Wallet signature verification, transfers	46944 (testnet) / 36944 (mainnet)

The backend will automatically create the database if it does not exist (it connects to the postgres database first and issues CREATE DATABASE).

Default Port

The trade API listens on port 3336 when using the recommended Docker configuration. The PORT environment variable controls this; the application default (when unset) is 3000.

Local Development

Prerequisites

Node.js 20+
PostgreSQL 14+
Lethean daemon running with RPC enabled
Lethean wallet RPC running

Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone ssh://git@forge.lthn.ai:2223/lthn/trade-backend.git
cd trade-backend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Configure environment
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env -- at minimum set PGPASSWORD and JWT_SECRET

# Start in development mode (with hot reload)
npm run dev

# Or start in production mode
npm start

Available Scripts

Script	Command	Description
`dev`	`nodemon --exec tsx ./src/server.ts`	Development with hot-reload
`start`	`tsx ./src/server.ts`	Production start
`format`	`prettier --write .`	Format all files
`format:check`	`prettier --check .`	Check formatting

Startup Sequence

On boot the backend:

Creates the PostgreSQL database if it does not exist
Authenticates and syncs the Sequelize schema
Sets up model associations
Ensures the LTHN base currency row exists
Promotes the OWNER_ALIAS user to admin (if set)
Starts background workers:
- Assets update checker -- polls explorer.lethean.io and api.lethean.io hourly
- Orders moderation service -- periodic order maintenance
- Auth messages clean service -- purges expired auth challenges
- Pair stats daemon -- updates 24h price/volume statistics
- Stats model -- initialises always-active pair tracking
Starts the Socket.IO server
Mounts Express middleware and routes
Begins listening on the configured port