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Setup Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the CTF Platform for local development.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js: Version 25.x (Recommended)
  • Docker: For running MongoDB and challenge containers
  • Git: For cloning repositories

1. Local Network Setup

The CTF Platform requires a dedicated Docker network for challenges to communicate securely.

docker network create ctf_ssrf_race

2. Challenge Image Preparation

Before starting the platform, you must build the challenge images.

  1. Clone the Challenge Repository:

    git clone https://github.com/sfeedbackx/ssrf-race.git
cd ssrf-race

  2. Build Challenge Images:

    # Build backend
cd backend && docker build -t ctf_ssrf_race_backend .
# Build frontend
cd ../frontend && docker build -t ctf_ssrf_race_frontend .

3. Infrastructure Initialization

Use Docker Compose to start essential services like MongoDB and the Docker access proxy.

  1. Navigate to Backend:

    cd ctf_platform/backend

  2. Configure Compose: Ensure compose.yaml has the ports exposed for development as needed.

  3. Start Services:

    # From root or backend (until moved to root)
docker compose up -d

    [!NOTE] For local development, compose.yaml (currently in backend/) starts the entire platform, including the Frontend as app-frontend.

4. Backend Configuration

  1. Environment Setup:

    cp env.example .env

    Note: The default DB_URL in env.example assumes you are running the backend on your host while MongoDB is in Docker. If running both in Docker, use the mongodb service name.

  2. Install & Migrate:

    npm install
npm run migrate  # Seeds the database with CTF challenges

  3. Start Development Server:

    npm run dev

5. Frontend Configuration

  1. Navigate to Frontend:

    cd ../frontend

  2. Environment Setup:

    cp env.example .env

  3. Install & Start:

    npm install
npm run dev

    The frontend will be available at http://localhost:5173.

Architecture Diagram

       +------------------+          +------------------+
       |   User Browser   |          |  Docker Daemon   |
       +--------+---------+          +--------+---------+
                |                            |
                | (HTTP/8080)                | (Docker API)
                v                            v
       +------------------+   Internal   +------------------+
       |  CTF Frontend    | <----------> |   CTF Backend    |
       |   (Exposed)      |   Network    |   (Internal)     |
       +------------------+ (ctf_ssrf)   +------------------+
                ^                            ^
                |                            |
                +-------------+--------------+
                              |
                     +--------+---------+
                     |  CTF Platform    |
                     |     Backend      |
                     +------------------+

Common Issues

MongoDB Connection

If the backend fails to connect to MongoDB, ensure the DB_URL in .env matches the credentials in compose.yaml. The default is mongodb://root:password@mongodb:27017/ctf_platform?authSource=admin.

Docker Error

Ensure the Docker daemon is running and the docker-socket-proxy container is active if you are using it.