Getting started

Placemat runs on your own computer with one command, and later in your own Cloudflare account if you want guests to book from anywhere. It is free and open source under the MIT licence.

Run it on your computer

You need Git and an internet connection, on macOS, Linux or Windows with WSL2. Placemat uses its own pinned Node 22 and pnpm 10.12.4, so you do not need to change the versions you already have.

1. Install rer, the Run Edit Run command, once per computer:

   curl -fsSL https://runeditrun.com/install.sh | sh
   export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

   Or install it with npm: npm install -g @runeditrun/rer.

2. Get Placemat and start it:

   git clone https://github.com/just-every/run-placemat.git
   cd run-placemat && rer dev

The first start installs everything, prepares the local database and makes you the owner. Give it a few minutes. When it is ready it prints two lines:

• RER_READY, the address of your Placemat on this computer.
• RER_OPEN, a link that opens Placemat signed in as the owner. Keep it private: it signs you in.

Starting again with rer dev resumes a launch that stopped part way. Stop Placemat with rer dev --stop or Ctrl-C.

Finish setup

Open the RER_OPEN link. Placemat shows Finish setup with the owner's name and email. Tick I confirm this owner account is ready to use. and press Finish setup. You arrive at the staff app, on Floor & bookings.

A new Placemat is empty. Nothing is invented for you: the floor says "Start by adding tables and creating a service below."

Set the venue first

Open Settings. Under Venue & access, enter your Venue name and Venue timezone, for example Australia/Brisbane, and press Save venue.

Set the timezone before you create a service. Placemat shows and accepts every time in the venue's timezone, even when your computer uses another one, and the guest booking page tells guests which timezone the times are in.

Then

1. Add your tables and create a service.
2. Run service on the floor: online bookings, walk-ins, the waitlist and no-shows.
3. Bring your guest list from your current system.
4. When you are ready for real guests, deploy to your own Cloudflare account.

Try another role

rer dev --as admin opens Placemat as a manager and rer dev --as member as read-only staff, so you can see what each person sees. rer dev --as signed-out opens the guest view. Return to the owner with rer dev --as owner.