From c14413a634e3afa5b45bb886f824980db94a167e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Harkamal Randhawa <harkamalsr@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 19:04:13 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] add client run instructions

---
 README.md | 80 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 80 insertions(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 959d9825..84c0f597 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -111,3 +111,83 @@ docker compose up --build -d
 ```
 
 Starts the API and MySQL together. The web frontend has its own Dockerfile for independent deployment.
+
+## Running the Web App
+
+Requires Node.js 18+.
+
+```sh
+cd web
+cp .env.example .env.local
+npm install
+npm run dev
+```
+
+Open `http://localhost:3000`. The app proxies API calls to the backend at `http://localhost:8080` by default.
+
+To point at a different backend, edit `BACKEND_URL` and `NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL` in `.env.local`.
+
+For a production build:
+
+```sh
+npm run build
+npm run start
+```
+
+## Running the Desktop App (JavaFX)
+
+Requires IntelliJ IDEA and Java 25+.
+
+1. Open the `desktop/` directory in IntelliJ.
+2. Copy `connectionpetstore.properties.example` to `connectionpetstore.properties` and edit it to match your database. The defaults expect the dev Docker database:
+
+```
+url=jdbc:mysql://127.0.0.1:3306/Petstoredb?useSSL=false&allowPublicKeyRetrieval=true&serverTimezone=UTC
+user=petshop
+password=petshop
+```
+
+3. Open **View > Tool Windows > Maven** and click **Reload All Maven Projects**.
+4. Expand **Plugins > javafx** and double-click **javafx:run**.
+
+Default accounts seeded on first run:
+
+| Role | Username | Password |
+|------|----------|----------|
+| Admin | `admin` | `admin123` |
+| Staff | `staff` | `staff123` |
+
+## Running the Android App
+
+Requires Android Studio and the Android SDK (min API 24).
+
+1. Copy `local.properties.template` to `local.properties` and set `sdk.dir` to your Android SDK path.
+2. Configure the backend URLs in `local.properties`:
+
+```properties
+# Emulator — 10.0.2.2 maps to the host machine's localhost
+petstore.backend.emulatorUrl=http\://10.0.2.2\:8080/
+
+# Physical device — use the host machine's LAN IP
+petstore.backend.deviceUrl=http\://192.168.x.x\:8080/
+```
+
+3. Open the `android/` directory in Android Studio.
+4. Sync Gradle, then run on an emulator or connected device.
+
+## Running the Backend
+
+Requires IntelliJ IDEA and Java 25+.
+
+1. Open the `backend/` directory in IntelliJ.
+2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env` and fill in your API keys.
+3. Start the database using Docker from IntelliJ's **Services** panel, or from a terminal:
+
+```sh
+cd backend
+docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
+```
+
+4. Run the `BackendApplication` main class from IntelliJ.
+
+The API starts at `http://localhost:8080`. Flyway runs migrations and seeds data automatically on first boot.