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Thoth Tech

OnTrack Development Setup Guide - 2025T3

Before You Begin

Before starting the setup, ensure the following are installed and ready:

  • Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
  • Git
  • A GitHub account (used to fork the repositories)

If you have attempted the setup previously and encountered errors. It is recommended to restart Docker Desktop Follow this guide from the beginning to avoid configuration issues.

Video walkthrough

If you prefer a visual guide, you can watch the full OnTrack development setup walkthrough here:

▶ OnTrack development setup video

The full setup video is hosted on the Deakin shared drive:

Watch the OnTrack setup video (Deakin SharePoint)

1. INSTALLING DOCKER DESKTOP

Docker Desktop is essential for running the OnTrack development container.

Steps:

  • Download Docker Desktop from docker.com

  • For Windows users:

  • Docker Desktop installation includes Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2)

  • If WSL2 isn’t automatically installed, follow the setup wizard

  • Docker Desktop installs WSL (aka whistle) as part of the process

  • Complete the installation and restart your computer if prompted

  • Start Docker Desktop and ensure it is running before proceeding

  • Verify installation by opening a terminal and running:
    docker --version

IMPORTANT: Keep Docker Desktop running throughout the development process.

2. FORKING THE REQUIRED REPOSITORIES

OnTrack consists of three main repositories that need to be forked from Doubtfire LMS:

Required Repositories

OnTrack consists of three main repositories that need to be forked from Doubtfire LMS:

  1. doubtfire-deploy

    • Contains docker-compose configuration
    • Main deployment setup

  2. doubtfire-api

    • Backend API (Ruby on Rails)
    • Contains the Ruby application code

  3. doubtfire-web

    • Frontend application (Angular)
    • Contains the user interface

Optional (for testing)

  1. doubtfire-lti
    • Used for LTI integration testing

How to Fork:

  • Navigate to the Thoth Tech GitHub organisation:
    https://github.com/thoth-tech/

  • For each repository (deploy, api, web): a. Go to the repository page
    b. Ensure you’re on the development branch initially
    c. Click the Fork button in the top-right
    d. Keep all default settings
    e. Uncheck “Copy the main branch only” if shown
    f. Click Create fork

Your forked repositories will appear at:

  • https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/doubtfire-deploy
  • https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/doubtfire-api
  • https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/doubtfire-web

3. PULLING THE DOCKER IMAGE

Before starting development, pull the required Docker image from Docker Hub.
The Docker image contains all dependencies for OnTrack development.

Steps:

  • Open Docker Desktop terminal (recommended for Windows users)

  • In Docker Desktop, click the terminal icon at the bottom

  • Run the following command:
    docker pull lmsdoubtfire/formatif-dev-container:10.0.0-14

Note:

  • The version number (10.0.0-14) comes from the docker-compose.yaml.

  • File in the doubtfire-deploy repository.

  • This will download all dependencies and may take several minutes

  • Verify the image was pulled by running:
    docker images
    You should see lmsdoubtfire/doubtfire-dev-container:10.0.0-14

Where to find the image version:

  • Open doubtfire-deploy/docker-compose.yaml
  • Look under services > image
  • The format is: lmsdoubtfire/doubtfire-dev-container:[version]

4. CLONING REPOSITORIES LOCALLY

Now clone your forked repositories to your local machine.

Steps:

  • Open your terminal (PowerShell on Windows, Terminal on macOS/Linux)

  • Navigate to your preferred directory: cd ~
    or
    cd C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\Documents\Projects

  • Clone doubtfire-deploy first: git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/doubtfire-deploy.git

  • Navigate into the directory: cd doubtfire-deploy

  • Clone the remaining repositories: git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/doubtfire-api.git
    git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/doubtfire-web.git

  • (Optional) Clone doubtfire-lti: git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/doubtfire-lti.git

You should now have: doubtfire-deploy/
├── doubtfire-api/
├── doubtfire-web/
└── doubtfire-lti/ (optional)

5. SETTING UP GIT REMOTES

Git remotes allow you to sync with both your fork (origin) and the ThothTech repository (upstream).

Understanding remotes:

  • origin: your forked repository on GitHub
  • upstream: ThothTech’s repository

Steps for doubtfire-deploy:

  • Check current remotes:
    git remote -v

  • Add ThothTech as upstream:
    git remote add upstream https://github.com/thothtech/doubtfire-deploy.git

  • Verify:
    git remote -v

Repeat the same steps for:

  • doubtfire-api
  • doubtfire-web

6. SWITCHING TO THE CORRECT BRANCH

IMPORTANT: You must work on the 10.0.x branch, not main or development.

For each repository:

  • Check current branch: git branch
  • Switch branch: git checkout 10.0.x
  • Pull latest changes: git pull
  • Verify: git status

(Optional but recommended):
git fetch

7. OPENING IN VS CODE

Now open the doubtfire-deploy directory in VS Code.

Steps:

  • From the doubtfire-deploy directory, run:
    code .

Alternatively:

  • Open VS Code manually
  • Select File > Open Folder
  • Choose the doubtfire-deploy folder

8. STARTING THE DEVELOPMENT CONTAINER

The development container runs all OnTrack services inside Docker.

Automatic method:

  • VS Code will detect the .devcontainer configuration
  • A popup will appear saying “Reopen in Container”
  • Click Reopen in Container

Manual method:

  • Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS)
  • Type Dev Containers: Reopen in Container
  • Select the option

9. ACCESSING THE APPLICATION

Once the container is running, OnTrack will be accessible via your browser.

Ports:

  • localhost:4200 – OnTrack frontend (Angular)
  • localhost:3000 – OnTrack API (Ruby on Rails)

Default admin credentials:

  • Username: admin
  • Password: password

10. TROUBLESHOOTING

Issue: Docker Desktop not running
Solution:

  • Open Docker Desktop
  • Wait for it to fully start
  • Reopen the container in VS Code

Issue: Wrong branch
Solution:

  • Run git checkout 10.0.x

Issue: CSS not loading
Solution:

  • Wait a few minutes
  • Refresh the page

CONCLUSION

You have now successfully set up the OnTrack development environment.

Document Version: 2025T3
Last Updated: November 2025
Author: Jayam Patel