First things first, make sure Docker is up and running on your machine. Supabase uses Docker containers for its local development environment. You can grab Docker from the official website.

Next up, you'll need Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager). Head over to the official Node.js website and get the latest version.

The Supabase Command Line Interface (CLI) is a must-have for managing Supabase services locally. Install it globally using npm:

npm install -g supabase

Navigate to or create a new directory for your project:

mkdir my-supabase-project
cd my-supabase-project

Initialize the Supabase project with this command, which sets up the necessary configuration files:

supabase init

Fire up the local Supabase services (Postgres, the API server, etc.):

supabase start

This command uses Docker to spin up the needed containers. It might take a bit longer the first time you run it.

Once the services are up and running, Supabase Studio will be available at http://localhost:54323. Open this URL in your browser to interact with your local Supabase instance.

Supabase uses environment variables for configuration. Make sure the .env file is set up correctly in your project directory. Usually, the supabase init command generates a .env file with default settings.

Apply any pending database migrations to keep your local database schema up to date:

supabase db push

Use a SQL client to connect to the local Supabase Postgres database. The connection details (hostname, port, user, password) are usually found in the .env file or supabase/config.toml.

With the Supabase services running locally, you can start developing your application and interact with your local Supabase instance just like you would with a remote one.

When you're done with development, stop the running Supabase services by pressing Ctrl+C in the terminal window where supabase start was executed or by using:

supabase stop