Getting Started
Welcome to the Datafly Signal getting started guide. This section walks you through everything you need to run the platform locally, understand its architecture, and begin collecting events.
What You Will Learn
- Quick Start — Stand up the full platform in five minutes and send your first event.
- Installation — Detailed installation guide including building from source.
- Configuration — Environment variables and per-service configuration reference.
- Architecture — How the components fit together, data flow, and deployment model.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed:
| Tool | Minimum Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Docker & Docker Compose | Docker 24+, Compose v2 | Infrastructure services (Kafka, Redis, PostgreSQL) |
| Go | 1.25 | Backend services |
| Node.js | 20 LTS | Management UI and Datafly.js builds |
| npm | 10+ | Node package management (ships with Node.js 20) |
| golang-migrate | v4 | Database migrations |
| psql | 16+ | Seeding development data |
You only need Docker to run the Quick Start. Go and Node.js are required if you want to build services from source or work on the codebase.
Platform Overview
Datafly Signal is composed of eight independently deployable components:
| Component | Technology | Default Port |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Library | Go | — |
| Ingestion Gateway | Go | 8080 |
| Event Processor | Go | 8081 |
| Delivery Workers | Go | 8082 |
| Identity Hub | Go | 8083 |
| Management API | Go | 8084 |
| Management UI | Next.js 15 | 3000 |
| Datafly.js | TypeScript | — |
Infrastructure is provided by Apache Kafka, Redis, and PostgreSQL, all included in the Docker Compose configuration.
Next Steps
Start with the Quick Start to have the platform running in minutes, or jump to Installation for a thorough setup guide.