nmemmertandClaude Sonnet 5.5
c11b6a60bf
BSB and NET are indexed in the browser; ESV, NLT, CSB and NASB are searched through a server proxy (keys stay server-side). Results page in 25 at a time and jump to the verse. Also fixes a stray trailing comma in CSB chapter text. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Bible Study App
A self-hosted Bible study tool with notes, projects, and user accounts.
Requirements
- Node.js v18 or higher — nodejs.org
- npm (bundled with Node.js)
- GCC / make (only needed for production/server installs — required to build the
better-sqlite3native module)
Quick Start
git clone https://github.com/nmemmert/study-bible-project.git
cd study-bible-project
bash setup.sh
setup.sh installs dependencies, builds the optimized frontend, and runs one
production server (frontend + API) on http://localhost:5173. Set APP_PORT
to use a different port. If the build fails, the previously running server is
left untouched. bash restart.sh pulls the latest code and does the same.
Stop / logs:
kill $(cat .api.pid)
tail -f .api.log
Development mode (hot reload)
bash setup.sh --dev
Starts the API on http://localhost:3001 and the Vite dev server on http://localhost:5173. Dev mode is much slower, so don't use it for real users.
Production Install (Ubuntu / systemd)
Installs the app as a persistent systemd service under /opt/study-app.
# Install Node.js 20 (if not already installed)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
# Install build tools (required for better-sqlite3)
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential python3
# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/nmemmert/study-bible-project.git
cd study-bible-project
sudo bash deploy/install.sh
The installer will:
- Install Node.js dependencies and build the frontend
- Create a
study-appsystem user - Register and start a systemd service
Useful commands after install:
systemctl status study-app # Check service status
journalctl -u study-app -f # Stream logs
systemctl restart study-app # Restart after an update
Open the firewall port (if needed):
sudo ufw allow 3001/tcp
sudo ufw reload
The app listens on port 3001 by default. Set the PORT environment variable in the systemd unit to change it.
Updating (Production)
cd /path/to/study-bible-project
git pull
sudo bash deploy/install.sh
The installer preserves the session secret across updates so logged-in users are not signed out.
Migrating to a New Machine
On the old machine — create a backup:
npm run backup
This creates study-app-backup_<timestamp>.zip in the project root.
On the new machine — restore after cloning and installing:
Development:
npm run restore study-app-backup_<timestamp>.zip
Production (after sudo bash deploy/install.sh completes):
sudo bash scripts/restore-data.sh study-app-backup_<timestamp>.zip --production
See scripts/backup-data.sh and scripts/restore-data.sh for details.
Project Structure
├── server/ # Express API + SQLite database
│ └── data/ # projects.db lives here (gitignored)
├── src/ # React frontend (Vite)
├── deploy/ # systemd service unit + install script
├── scripts/ # backup / restore helpers
└── setup.sh # Development quick-start
License
Private / personal use.