medusa-setup

Medusa v2 Development Setup

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Fetch https://docs.medusajs.com/learn/installation for installation guide
2. Web-search site:docs.medusajs.com create medusa starter for project scaffolding
3. Web-search site:docs.medusajs.com medusa-config reference for configuration options
4. Web-search site:docs.medusajs.com project directory structure for v2 layout

Prerequisites

Required Software

Software	Minimum Version	Purpose
Node.js	v20+	Runtime
PostgreSQL	— (see docs)	Primary database
Redis	v6+	Event bus, caching (optional for dev)
Git	any	Version control
npm / yarn / pnpm	latest	Package manager

PostgreSQL Setup

• Create a dedicated database: CREATE DATABASE medusa_db;
• Create a user with full privileges on that database
• Connection string format: postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/medusa_db

Redis Setup (Optional for Development)

• Default connection: redis://localhost:6379
• Required in production for the event bus module and caching
• In development, Medusa falls back to an in-memory event bus

Project Creation

CLI Scaffolding

npx create-medusa-app@latest my-store
# Prompts: project name, PostgreSQL credentials
# Creates: backend + Next.js storefront starter

Backend Only

npx create-medusa-app@latest my-store --skip-client
# Fetch live docs for current CLI flags

Project Directory Structure

Directory	Purpose
src/modules/	Custom modules (DML data models, services)
src/workflows/	Custom workflows and steps
src/api/store/, src/api/admin/	Custom API routes + middlewares.ts
src/subscribers/, src/jobs/	Event subscribers, scheduled jobs
src/admin/widgets/, src/admin/routes/	Admin UI extensions
src/links/	Module link definitions
Root	medusa-config.ts, package.json, tsconfig.json, .env

medusa-config.ts Key Fields

Field	Purpose
projectConfig.databaseUrl	PostgreSQL connection string
projectConfig.redisUrl	Redis connection (optional)
projectConfig.http.adminCors	Allowed origins for admin API
projectConfig.http.storeCors	Allowed origins for store API
projectConfig.http.authCors	Allowed origins for auth routes
projectConfig.workerMode	shared, worker, or server
modules	Array of module configurations
plugins	Array of plugin configurations

Minimal Configuration Skeleton

// medusa-config.ts — Fetch live docs for current defineConfig shape
import { defineConfig } from "@medusajs/framework/utils"

export default defineConfig({
  projectConfig: { databaseUrl: process.env.DATABASE_URL },
  // Fetch live docs for modules, plugins, http config
})

Environment Variables

DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/medusa_db
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
COOKIE_SECRET=your-cookie-secret
JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret
STORE_CORS=http://localhost:8000
ADMIN_CORS=http://localhost:5173
AUTH_CORS=http://localhost:5173

Never hardcode secrets -- always use .env files excluded from version control.

CLI Commands

Command	Purpose
npx medusa develop	Start dev server with hot reload
npx medusa build	Build for production
npx medusa start	Start production server
npx medusa worker	Start background worker process
npx medusa db:migrate	Run database migrations
npx medusa db:generate	Generate migration files
npx medusa db:rollback	Rollback last migration
npx medusa user --email admin@example.com	Create admin user
npx medusa exec ./src/scripts/seed.ts	Run seed script

Worker Mode

Medusa supports three worker modes for handling background jobs:

Mode	Description
shared	Single process handles HTTP and background jobs (default)
worker	Dedicated process for background jobs only
server	HTTP-only, no background job processing

In production, run one server instance and one or more worker instances.

Database Migrations

• Medusa v2 auto-generates migrations from DML model changes
• Run npx medusa db:generate after modifying data models
• Run npx medusa db:migrate to apply pending migrations
• Always commit migration files to version control

Best Practices

• Use npx create-medusa-app@latest to scaffold -- do not set up manually
• Always run npx medusa db:migrate after pulling changes that include new migrations
• Keep .env in .gitignore and provide .env.template for team members
• Use shared worker mode in development, separate server + worker in production
• Pin your Medusa version in package.json to avoid unexpected breaking changes
• Run npx medusa user to create the first admin user after initial setup

Common Issues

Issue	Resolution
Database connection refused	Verify PostgreSQL is running and DATABASE_URL is correct
Migrations fail	Ensure database exists and user has DDL privileges
Admin dashboard blank	Check ADMIN_CORS matches the admin URL
Store API 403	Check STORE_CORS matches the storefront URL
Redis connection error	Either start Redis or remove redisUrl from config

Fetch the Medusa installation guide and CLI reference for exact commands, flags, and latest configuration options before setting up.