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Deployment Requirements

You receive a zip file. You run it on your hardware.

Primer is software you install on infrastructure you control. Pick the option that fits your team.

The big picture

1. You download

A zip file. The complete source code.

2. You install it

On a server, laptop, or cloud VM you own.

3. Your team uses it

Opens in any web browser, on your network.

Where does the data live?

Everything stays inside your organization. We never see it, host it, or touch it.

Your organization

Your server
Primer runs here
Your database
All data stays here
Your users
Log in over your network

DavidPM, LLC

No connection.
No access.
No data.

Three ways to deploy

1

Direct Install

Node.js and PostgreSQL on any machine. Full visibility into everything running.

Best for:

Technical teams, evaluations, developers

2

Docker Compose

Popular

One command starts the app, database, and proxy in containers. Identical on every operating system.

Best for:

Most organizations

3

Your Infrastructure

Connect Primer to the database, authentication, and network your organization already runs.

Best for:

Enterprise IT teams

What's inside the zip file

/src

The application

/docs

Instructions

/migrations

Database setup

docker-compose.yml

One-command install

.env.example

Configuration

README.md

Start here

llms.txt

AI assistant context

What you're in charge of

Owning the source code means you make these decisions.

Where it runs

Your office, the cloud, or a mix.

The database

PostgreSQL, included in the Docker setup.

Who logs in

Built-in accounts, or plug in your own identity provider.

The look

Your colors, logo, and wording.

The network

Your firewall, your domain, your SSL.

Two ways to handle login

One path ships ready to use. The other plugs into whatever you already run.

Built-in accounts

Email and password ship ready to use. The install walkthrough below covers it end to end.

Your existing identity provider

Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace, or any OIDC provider connects at a documented seam. SAML and LDAP work the same way. See docs/auth-seam.md in the source zip.

Not a developer? No problem.

Copy the README into any AI assistant, tell it your operating system, and it walks you through the standard install. Every configuration file is annotated in plain language.

Want to see Primer in action first?

Try the Demo