Quick start

You'll need Bun, a free Convex account, a Clerk application, and an OpenRouter API key.

1git clone https://github.com/whirlchat/whirl.git
2cd whirl
3bun install
4 
5# 1. Create a Convex dev deployment and push the backend.
6cd packages/backend
7bunx convex dev            # first run walks you through creating a project
8 
9# 2. In another terminal, give the backend its secrets.
10bunx convex env set CLERK_JWT_ISSUER_DOMAIN https://your-instance.clerk.accounts.dev
11bunx convex env set OPENROUTER_API_KEY sk-or-v1-...
12 
13# 3. Point the web app at Convex and Clerk.
14cd ../../apps/v2
15cp .env.example .env.local  # then fill in the four required values
16 
17# 4. Run everything from the repo root.
18cd ../..
19bun run dev

Open localhost:3000 and say hi. The self-hosting guide covers each step in detail, including the Clerk JWT template Convex needs and how to deploy to production.

Source captured: 2026-10-11

You'll need Bun, a free Convex account, a Clerk application, and an OpenRouter API key.

1git clone https://github.com/whirlchat/whirl.git
2cd whirl
3bun install
4 
5# 1. Create a Convex dev deployment and push the backend.
6cd packages/backend
7bunx convex dev            # first run walks you through creating a project
8 
9# 2. In another terminal, give the backend its secrets.
10bunx convex env set CLERK_JWT_ISSUER_DOMAIN https://your-instance.clerk.accounts.dev
11bunx convex env set OPENROUTER_API_KEY sk-or-v1-...
12 
13# 3. Point the web app at Convex and Clerk.
14cd ../../apps/v2
15cp .env.example .env.local  # then fill in the four required values
16 
17# 4. Run everything from the repo root.
18cd ../..
19bun run dev

Open localhost:3000 and say hi. The self-hosting guide covers each step in detail, including the Clerk JWT template Convex needs and how to deploy to production.