# 00 · Setup

> Get the Temporal Service, the web app, and the Temporal UI running, and find your way around the project.

- Course: [Wordflow: Learn Temporal by Building a Word Game](https://syntaxsugar.io/course/wordflow/index.md)
- Section: Lessons
- Author: Michael Jones
- Updated: 2026-10-05
- URL: https://syntaxsugar.io/course/wordflow/00-setup/

**Goal:** get the Temporal Service, the web app, and the Temporal UI running, and find your way around the project.

## What's running

| Process | Command | Port | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporal Service | `make temporal` | 7233, UI on 8233 | Stores Workflow state and hands out work. A dev server that keeps its data in `.temporal/`. |
| Web app and API | `make server` | 8080 | The game UI, the HTTP API, and fake external services. |
| Worker | `make worker` | | Runs your Workflow and Activity code. You build it in Lesson 1. |

The Temporal Service never runs your code. It records what happened and puts tasks on a Task Queue. Your Worker polls that queue, runs the code, and reports back.

## Project layout

| Path | Owner | What |
|---|---|---|
| `app/` | you | Everything you write: Workflows, Activities, the Worker, and the API functions that call Temporal. |
| `solutions/NN/` | course | The finished `app/` after each lesson. |
| `internal/` | course | Game rules, puzzle storage, HTTP routing, fake services. You call these; you don't change them. |
| `web/` | course | The browser app. |
| `puzzles/` | course | One JSON file per puzzle. |
| `course/` | course | These lessons. |

## Build it

**Go:**

### 1. Start the Temporal Service

The Codespace installs the Temporal CLI. In a terminal:

```sh
make temporal
```

Leave it running. Open the **Ports** tab and open port **8233** to see the Temporal UI.

### 2. Start the web app

In a second terminal:

```sh
make server
```

Port **8080** opens in your browser.

### 3. Look around

```
app/
  api/api.go          # one method per endpoint; all return ErrNotImplemented
  cmd/server/main.go  # starts the web app; you add a Temporal Client in Lesson 1
  cmd/worker/main.go  # you build the Worker in Lesson 1
internal/
  game/               # game rules: State, Player, Leaderboard
  puzzles/            # reads puzzles/*.json
  httpapi/            # routes, JSON, error mapping
  services/           # fake dictionary and feed
```

Open `app/api/api.go`. Each method is one endpoint and names the lesson that builds it. The HTTP layer in `internal/httpapi` decodes the request, calls your method, and turns its result or error into a response.

Skim `internal/game/game.go`. Its functions take the current time as an argument instead of calling `time.Now()`. You'll see why in Lesson 1.

### 4. Useful commands

| Command | What |
|---|---|
| `make worker` / `make server` | Run your code in `app/`. |
| `make worker S=05` | Run Lesson 5's solution. |
| `make build` | Compile and vet everything. |
| `make clean-workflows` | Terminate every running Workflow. |
| `make reset-temporal` | Delete all Temporal data (stop `make temporal` first). |
| `temporal workflow list` | List Workflows from the terminal. |



## Check it

- [ ] The Temporal UI opens on port 8233 and shows the `default` namespace with no Workflows.

  *[Image: Temporal UI with no Workflows]*

- [ ] The web app opens on port 8080 and lists five puzzles.
- [ ] Clicking a puzzle shows **Not built yet. This arrives in Lesson 1.**
- [ ] The **External services** panel shows the dictionary mode and an empty feed.

  *[Image: The starter web app]*

## Working through the course

- Keep three terminals open: `make temporal`, `make server`, and `make worker`.
- Restart the Worker after changing Workflow or Activity code. Restart the server after changing API code.
- Games from earlier lessons keep running with the code they started on. If the Worker logs errors about old Workflows, end them with `make clean-workflows`. Lesson 12 explains why this happens.
- To compare with the finished code, run `make worker S=NN` and `make server S=NN`.
- `make reset-temporal` (with `make temporal` stopped) deletes every Workflow and starts fresh.
- The course site starts with the Codespace. If it isn't on port 8000, run `make course`.