Forsyte Exercises

This repository is a small monorepo used for frontend exercises on top of a realistic backend.

• Root: orchestrates workspaces with Turbo and pnpm.
• apps/api: NestJS + Prisma + Postgres API exposing agent and risk-related endpoints.
• apps/web: Next.js frontend where candidates complete the exercises.

Exercises

Frontend

The exercises are frontend-focused and live in apps/web. You should treat the API (apps/api) as a stable backend.

Exercise 1 – Ask Forsyte

• Doc: docs/exercise-1.md
• Focus: build the “Ask Forsyte” assistant layout in the frontend using mocked data (no real API calls).

Exercise 2 – Ask Forsyte with backend integration

• Doc: docs/exercise-2.md
• Focus: wire that layout to the real NestJS agent API in three stages (plain answers, markdown+resources, and multi-part answers).

Quick start

All commands below assume your working directory is the root of the repository.

Prerequisites

• Node.js: version 18 or newer.
• Package manager: pnpm (see the packageManager field in package.json).
• PostgreSQL: a running PostgreSQL instance (local install, Docker, etc.).

1. Install dependencies

pnpm install

2. Set up the database

The API needs a PostgreSQL database before it can start.

Create the database and configure the connection:

1. Ensure you have a PostgreSQL database called forsyteco available. How you create it depends on your setup (e.g. createdb, a Docker container, a GUI tool, etc.).
2. Copy the example env file and adjust if needed:

cp apps/api/.env.example apps/api/.env

The default connection string in .env.example expects Postgres on localhost:5432 with user postgres and password postgres. Update DATABASE_URL in your new .env file if your setup differs.

Run migrations, generate the Prisma client, and seed data:

pnpm --filter api prisma:generate   # generate the Prisma client from the schema
pnpm --filter api prisma:migrate    # apply database migrations
pnpm --filter api prisma:seed       # seed demo data (users, clients, matters, etc.)

The seed script creates:

• A primary organisation (forsyte) with a small set of users, clients, matters, risk assessments, and risk flags.
• A wired mock agent model (forsyte.ask-forsyte-mock-1-alpha-v5) and a demo agent session.

You can also browse the database with:

pnpm --filter api prisma:studio     # open Prisma Studio at http://localhost:5555

• Schema: apps/api/prisma/schema.prisma
• Seed script: apps/api/prisma/seed.ts

3. Run the stack

Start both API and web via Turbo:

pnpm dev

Or run them separately:

pnpm dev --filter api   # NestJS API on http://localhost:8174
pnpm dev --filter web   # Next.js app on http://localhost:3891

Non-standard ports: This project deliberately uses ports 8174 (API) and 3891 (web) instead of the usual 8000/3000 to avoid clashing with other local projects that use the same tech stack. Make sure you use these ports when accessing the apps in your browser:

• Web app: http://localhost:3891
• API / Swagger docs: http://localhost:8174/swagger

Tests and linting

pnpm test           # turbo run test across workspaces
pnpm test --filter api
pnpm lint
pnpm lint --filter web

Authentication

• The API is protected by JWT access tokens.
• A public login endpoint is available at POST /auth/login and expects:
  • email (e.g. buzz.aldrin@forsyte.co)
  • password (e.g. beeCompliant33)
• Frontend calls to protected endpoints (including the Ask Forsyte agent routes) must send:
  • Authorization: Bearer <accessToken>