Client Board

Project tracking for client work. A developer runs their own board across several client companies; each client's manager signs in, sees only their own projects, and sets the priorities and target dates that matter to them.

Next.js 16 + PocketBase.

There is no local PocketBase

This project uses one PocketBase instance, hosted on Coolify. There is no local server to start and no local database to keep in sync. Point NEXT_PUBLIC_PB_URL at the hosted instance and run the app against it.

That means every developer and every test run shares one database. See "Tests touch real data" below before running the integration suite.

Setup

npm install
cp .env.example .env.local

Fill in .env.local:

Variable	Notes
NEXT_PUBLIC_PB_URL	The Coolify PocketBase URL. Public by design — the browser connects to it directly.
PB_SUPERUSER_EMAIL	Server-side only. Never exposed to the browser.
PB_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD	Server-side only. Never commit this.

.env.local is gitignored. .env.example is not — it is tracked, so anything written there is published to every clone and stays in history. Put placeholders in it, never real credentials.

Running

npm run dev

Applying the schema

npm run setup-remote

scripts/setup-remote.ts is the single source of truth for the schema. It creates every collection and applies the API rules against the hosted instance through the admin API. It is idempotent and non-destructive: re-running reuses existing collections and never deletes anything.

pocketbase/pb_migrations/ holds the same schema as PocketBase migration files. They are reference only and never execute — migrations run on server start, and this project does not start a PocketBase server. If you change the schema, change scripts/setup-remote.ts. Editing a migration file does nothing at all.

Seeding demo data

npm run seed

Creates one client, one project with its default columns, an owner account, a client-manager account, and a few cards.

Tests

npm test              # unit — pure logic, no network
npm run test:integration   # requires npm run dev to be running
npm run test:all

Tests touch real data. The integration suite signs in against the hosted PocketBase, creates and deletes a throwaway client and project, and changes priorities on seeded cards. That is fine while the database holds demo data only. Before a real client's board lives there, stand up a second PocketBase instance for tests — otherwise a test run edits their project.

Permissions, in one paragraph

PocketBase API rules are record-level and cannot express "this user may update priority but not column". So client managers are denied all writes at the database, and their edits go through /api/client/* route handlers that authenticate as a superuser and copy across only whitelisted fields. The owner writes through /api/owner/* using their own token, because the auth cookie is httpOnly and the browser SDK therefore has no credentials. If you find yourself relaxing a write rule to make a form work, that form should be posting to a route handler instead.

Specs and plans

• docs/superpowers/specs/ — design documents
• docs/superpowers/plans/ — implementation plans