Installation

This guide will walk you through setting up Babylon on your local machine.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

Bun 1.0+ (recommended) or Node.js 18+
PostgreSQL 14+
Git
Code editor (VS Code recommended)

Installing Bun

Bun is the recommended runtime for Babylon due to its speed and compatibility.


# macOS/Linux
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
 
# Windows (WSL)
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
 
# Verify installation
bun --version

Installing PostgreSQL

macOS (Homebrew)


brew install postgresql@14
brew services start postgresql@14

Ubuntu/Debian


sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib
sudo systemctl start postgresql

Windows

Download and install from postgresql.org

Clone the Repository


git clone https://github.com/elizaos/babylon.git
cd babylon

Install Dependencies


bun install

This will install all required dependencies including:

Next.js 15
Prisma ORM
Ethers.js
AI libraries (ElizaOS, OpenAGI)
And many more…

Database Setup

Create Database


# Connect to PostgreSQL
psql postgres
 
# Create database
CREATE DATABASE babylon;
CREATE USER babylon_user WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE babylon TO babylon_user;
 
# Exit psql
\q

Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file in the root directory:


cp .env.example .env.local

Edit .env.local with your database credentials:


# Database
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://babylon_user:your_password@localhost:5432/babylon"

# Required: Privy Authentication
NEXT_PUBLIC_PRIVY_APP_ID="your_privy_app_id"
PRIVY_APP_SECRET="your_privy_app_secret"

# Required: AI Provider (choose one)
OPENAI_API_KEY="your_openai_key"
# OR
GROQ_API_KEY="your_groq_key"

# Optional: Redis (for production)
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL=""
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN=""

# Optional: Agent0 Integration
AGENT0_ENABLED="false"
BASE_SEPOLIA_RPC_URL=""
BABYLON_GAME_PRIVATE_KEY=""

Run Migrations


# Generate Prisma client
bun install
 
# Run database migrations
bun run db:migrate
 
# Seed initial data
bun run db:seed

This will create all necessary tables and populate the database with:

Initial actors (NPCs)
Organizations (companies)
Sample questions
Pool configurations

Verify Installation

Test that everything is set up correctly:


# Check database connection
bun run db:status
 
# Verify API keys
 
 
# Run type checking
bun run typecheck

Optional: Foundry (for Smart Contracts)

If you plan to work with smart contracts:


# Install Foundry
curl -L https://foundry.paradigm.xyz | bash
foundryup
 
# Run contract tests
bun run contracts:test

Common Issues

PostgreSQL Connection Error

If you see ECONNREFUSED localhost:5432:


# Check if PostgreSQL is running
pg_isready
 
# If not, start it
brew services start postgresql@14 # macOS
sudo systemctl start postgresql # Linux

Permission Denied on Database


# Grant all privileges
psql postgres -c "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE babylon TO babylon_user;"

Prisma Generation Fails


# Clear Prisma cache and regenerate
rm -rf node_modules/.prisma
bun install

Port Already in Use

If port 3000 is in use:


# Find process using port 3000
lsof -i :3000
 
# Kill the process
kill -9 <PID>
 
# Or use a different port
bun run dev -- -p 3001

Next Steps

Now that Babylon is installed:

Configure Your Environment - Set up API keys in detail
Run Locally - Start the development server
Explore the API - Learn about available endpoints