Installation

Installation

Detailed instructions for building and installing RocketRide Engine from source.

Prerequisites

The only manual prerequisite is Node.js 18+. The build system automatically downloads and configures everything else. See Prerequisites for the full list.

node --version   # v18.0.0 or higher required

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/rocketride-org/rocketride-server.git
cd rocketride-server

Full Build

./builder build

On first run, the builder:

1. Installs pnpm (if not already present)
2. Runs pnpm install for all workspace packages
3. Downloads vcpkg and C++ dependencies
4. Downloads JDK 17 and Maven 3.9.6
5. Downloads Apache Tika 3.2.3
6. Compiles the C++ engine (via CMake)
7. Builds all TypeScript packages and applications
8. Installs Python dependencies for pipeline nodes

The first build takes several minutes depending on your hardware and network speed. Subsequent builds are incremental.

Parallel vs. Sequential

By default the builder runs module builds in parallel. If you encounter issues (memory pressure, file locks), use sequential mode:

./builder build --sequential

Build Individual Modules

./builder server:build            # C++ engine only
./builder client-typescript:build  # TypeScript SDK
./builder client-python:build     # Python SDK
./builder nodes:build             # Pipeline nodes
./builder chat-ui:build           # Chat UI (React)
./builder dropper-ui:build        # Dropper UI (React)
./builder vscode:build            # VSCode extension
./builder ai:build                # AI/ML modules
./builder tika:build              # Tika document parser

Verify Installation

./Engine --verify

This checks that the engine binary, all pipeline nodes, and their dependencies are properly installed.

Platform Notes

macOS

• Both Intel and Apple Silicon are supported.
• Xcode Command Line Tools are required for C++ compilation (the builder will prompt you if missing).

Linux

• Tested on Ubuntu 20.04+ and Debian 11+.
• GCC 9+ or Clang 10+ required for C++17 support.
• The builder installs build-essential dependencies automatically where possible.

Windows

• Use builder.cmd instead of ./builder.
• Visual Studio 2019+ Build Tools required (C++17 support).
• Run from a standard Command Prompt or PowerShell (not WSL).

builder.cmd build

Clean Build

To remove all build artifacts and start fresh:

./builder clean
./builder build

Running the Engine

# Run a pipeline directly
./Engine --pipeline path/to/pipeline.json

# Run as a service (WebSocket server)
./Engine --service --port 5565

# Verify installation
./Engine --verify

Downloading Client SDKs from the Engine

When the engine runs as a service, clients can be downloaded directly:

Client	Endpoint
Python SDK	GET /client/python
TypeScript SDK	GET /client/typescript
VSCode Extension	GET /client/vscode

Next Steps

• Quickstart -- get running in five minutes
• Module Guide -- overview of every module
• System Overview -- architecture diagram and layers