SaaSForge Complete Installation & Setup Guide

Congratulations on purchasing SaaSForge! This comprehensive guide will walk you through every step to get your SaaS application up and running.

Prerequisites
Getting Repository Access
Local Development Setup
Database Configuration
Authentication Setup
Payment Integration
Email Configuration
Two-Factor Authentication
Internationalization (i18n)
Customization Guide
Deployment to Production
Post-Deployment Checklist

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Required Software

| Software | Version | Download | | ----------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Node.js | 18.x or 20.x | nodejs.org | | npm or pnpm | Latest | Comes with Node.js | | Git | Latest | git-scm.com | | PostgreSQL | 14+ | postgresql.org | | VS Code | Latest | code.visualstudio.com |

Recommended VS Code Extensions

- Prisma
- ESLint
- Prettier
- Tailwind CSS IntelliSense
- Thunder Client (API testing)

Optional (but recommended)

Docker Desktop for containerized development
Redis for email queues and caching
GitHub account for OAuth and repository access

Getting Repository Access

After your purchase is confirmed:

Step 1: Check Your Email

You will receive an email with:

GitHub repository invitation link
Your license key
Download links for documentation

Step 2: Accept GitHub Invitation

Click the invitation link in your email
Log into GitHub (or create an account)
Accept the repository invitation
You now have access to the private SaaSForge repository

Step 3: Clone the Repository

# Clone via HTTPS
git clone https://github.com/FastSaaSCloud/saasforge.git

# OR clone via SSH (recommended)
git clone git@github.com:FastSaaSCloud/saasforge.git

# Navigate to the project
cd saasforge

Local Development Setup

Step 1: Install Dependencies

# Using npm
npm install

# OR using pnpm (faster)
pnpm install

Step 2: Environment Configuration

Copy the example environment file:

cp .env.example .env

Step 3: Configure Environment Variables

Open .env and configure these essential variables:

# ========================================
# DATABASE
# ========================================
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/saasforge"

# ========================================
# AUTHENTICATION
# ========================================
NEXTAUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"
NEXTAUTH_SECRET="generate-with-openssl-rand-base64-32"

# ========================================
# APPLICATION
# ========================================
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="http://localhost:3000"
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME="Your SaaS Name"

Generate Secure Secret

# Generate NEXTAUTH_SECRET
openssl rand -base64 32

Step 4: Database Setup

# Generate Prisma Client
npx prisma generate

# Run migrations
npx prisma migrate dev --name init

# (Optional) Seed sample data
npx prisma db seed

Step 5: Start Development Server

npm run dev

🎉 Your application is now running at http://localhost:3000

Database Configuration

Option 1: Local PostgreSQL

Install PostgreSQL locally and create a database:

-- Connect to PostgreSQL
psql -U postgres

-- Create database
CREATE DATABASE saasforge;

-- Create user (optional)
CREATE USER saasuser WITH PASSWORD 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE saasforge TO saasuser;

Update your .env:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://saasuser:your_password@localhost:5432/saasforge"

Option 2: Docker PostgreSQL

# Start PostgreSQL with Docker
docker run --name saasforge-db \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=saasforge \
  -e POSTGRES_USER=saasforge \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=saasforge_secret \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -d postgres:15

# Your DATABASE_URL
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://saasforge:saasforge_secret@localhost:5432/saasforge"

Option 3: Docker Compose (Recommended)

Use the included docker-compose.yml:

docker-compose up -d

This starts PostgreSQL and Redis automatically.

Database Management

# View database in browser
npx prisma studio

# Reset database
npx prisma migrate reset

# Create new migration
npx prisma migrate dev --name your_migration_name

Authentication Setup

SaaSForge includes NextAuth.js v5 with multiple providers.

Email/Password Authentication

Enabled by default. Users can:

Register with email/password
Login with email/password
Reset password via email
Verify email address

OAuth Providers

Google OAuth

Go to Google Cloud Console
Create a new project or select existing
Navigate to APIs & Services > Credentials
Click Create Credentials > OAuth client ID
Choose Web application
Add Authorized redirect URIs:
- http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/google (development)
- https://yourdomain.com/api/auth/callback/google (production)
Copy Client ID and Secret

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID="your-google-client-id"
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET="your-google-client-secret"

GitHub OAuth

Go to GitHub Developer Settings
Click New OAuth App
Fill in:
- Application name: Your SaaS Name
- Homepage URL: http://localhost:3000
- Authorization callback URL: http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/github
Copy Client ID and generate Client Secret

GITHUB_ID="your-github-client-id"
GITHUB_SECRET="your-github-client-secret"

Payment Integration

PayPal Setup

1. Create PayPal Developer Account

Go to developer.paypal.com
Log in with your PayPal Business account
Navigate to Apps & Credentials

2. Create Sandbox App (Testing)

Click Create App
Select Merchant type
Name it "YourSaaS Sandbox"
Copy Client ID and Secret

# Sandbox (Testing)
NEXT_PUBLIC_PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID="sandbox-client-id"
PAYPAL_CLIENT_SECRET="sandbox-secret"
PAYPAL_MODE="sandbox"

3. Create Live App (Production)

Switch to Live tab
Create a new Live app
Copy Client ID and Secret

# Live (Production)
NEXT_PUBLIC_PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID="live-client-id"
PAYPAL_CLIENT_SECRET="live-secret"
PAYPAL_MODE="live"

Stripe Setup (Optional)

Create account at stripe.com
Get API keys from Dashboard
Configure webhooks

STRIPE_SECRET_KEY="sk_live_..."
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY="pk_live_..."
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET="whsec_..."

Email Configuration

Using Resend (Recommended)

Create account at resend.com
Add and verify your domain
Get API key

RESEND_API_KEY="re_..."

Email Templates

SaaSForge includes templates for:

Welcome emails
Password reset
Email verification
Purchase confirmation
Team invitations

Templates are in /lib/email/templates/.

Email Queue (BullMQ + Redis)

For production, enable the email queue:

REDIS_URL="redis://localhost:6379"

Two-Factor Authentication

SaaSForge includes TOTP-based 2FA.

Enable 2FA for Users

User goes to Settings > Security
Click Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Scan QR code with authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy)
Enter verification code
Save backup codes securely

Configuration

2FA is enabled by default. To customize:

// lib/auth/two-factor.ts
export const TWO_FACTOR_CONFIG = {
  issuer: "Your SaaS Name",
  algorithm: "SHA1",
  digits: 6,
  period: 30,
};

Internationalization (i18n)

SaaSForge includes next-intl with 3 languages.

Supported Languages

English (en) - Default
Spanish (es)
French (fr)

Translation Files

Located in /messages/:

messages/
├── en.json
├── es.json
└── fr.json

Adding a New Language

Create translation file:

cp messages/en.json messages/de.json

Translate the content
Update locale config:

// i18n.config.ts
export const locales = ["en", "es", "fr", "de"] as const;

Customization Guide

Branding

Logo

Replace files in /public/:

logo.svg - Main logo
logo-dark.svg - Dark mode logo
favicon.ico - Favicon

Colors

Edit tailwind.config.ts:

theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      primary: {
        50: '#your-color',
        // ... 100-900
      },
    },
  },
},

Fonts

Update in /app/layout.tsx:

import { Inter } from "next/font/google";
// Change to your preferred font

Landing Page

Edit /app/page.tsx and components in /components/landing/:

Hero section
Features
Pricing
Testimonials
FAQ

Dashboard

Customize /app/dashboard/ layouts and components.

Deployment to Production

Option 1: VPS (Recommended for Control)

1. Server Requirements

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
2GB+ RAM
25GB+ SSD

2. Install Dependencies

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Node.js 20
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Install PM2
sudo npm install -g pm2

# Install Nginx
sudo apt install nginx -y

# Install PostgreSQL
sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y

3. Deploy Application

# Clone repository
git clone git@github.com:FastSaaSCloud/saasforge.git /var/www/saasforge
cd /var/www/saasforge

# Install dependencies
npm install --production

# Build application
npm run build

# Start with PM2
pm2 start npm --name "saasforge" -- start
pm2 startup
pm2 save

4. Configure Nginx

# /etc/nginx/sites-available/saasforge
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

5. SSL with Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

Option 2: Vercel (Easiest)

npm install -g vercel
vercel

Option 3: Docker

docker build -t saasforge .
docker run -p 3000:3000 saasforge

Post-Deployment Checklist

Security

[ ] Generate unique NEXTAUTH_SECRET
[ ] Enable HTTPS/SSL
[ ] Set secure cookie options
[ ] Enable rate limiting
[ ] Configure CORS properly

Performance

[ ] Enable caching with Redis
[ ] Set up CDN (Cloudflare)
[ ] Optimize images
[ ] Enable gzip compression

Monitoring

[ ] Set up error tracking (Sentry)
[ ] Configure health checks
[ ] Set up uptime monitoring
[ ] Enable logging

Backups

[ ] Configure database backups
[ ] Test backup restoration
[ ] Document recovery procedures

Getting Help

Documentation

Full docs: https://fastsaas.cloud/docs
API Reference: https://fastsaas.cloud/docs (Swagger tab)

Community

Discord: Join our Discord
GitHub Issues: Report bugs on the repository

Support

Email: support@fastsaas.cloud
Response time: Within 24 hours

Next Steps

After installation, explore these guides:

Happy building! 🚀