What a successful start looks like

In the terminal

After npm run seed (Path A), the end of the output looks like this:

✅ ChatCart seed complete
   Stores:      2 (Bloom Boutique [default], Aroma Café)
   Categories:  28
   Products:    33
   ...
   Admin:       [email protected] / ChangeMe123!

⚠️  This is the public demo password. Sign in and change it in
   Admin → Users before anyone else can reach this site.

After npm run dev, you see something like this:

   ▲ Next.js 16.x.x (Turbopack)
   - Local:        http://localhost:3000
   - Network:      http://192.168.1.20:3000
   - Environments: .env.local

 ✓ Starting...
 ✓ Ready in 1.8s

Check that .env.local is listed under Environments. If it is missing, the file is in the wrong folder or has the wrong name. When you open a page, lines like GET / 200 in 2.4s appear. A 200 means the page loaded. Red error text means something is wrong: look it up in Troubleshooting.

In the browser

http://localhost:3000 shows the storefront. With demo data, you see Bloom Boutique as in the Overview picture. With a clean install, you see No store configured yet until you create your first store.

http://localhost:3000/admin sends you to the sign-in page. Your own install shows an empty form (the live demo fills it in for you, as in this picture).