Server Installation

Complete guide for installing the Gradescope Submitter on your server.

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/GGC-SD/gradescope-submitter.git
cd gradescope-submitter

Step 2: Install Dependencies

npm install

This installs:

• express — Web server framework
• dotenv — Environment variable management
• handlebars — Template engine
• node-html-parser — HTML parsing utilities

Step 3: Create Environment File

touch .env

Edit .env with your configuration. See Environment Configuration for all variables.

Step 4: Start the Server

Development Mode

npm start

Production Mode (with PM2)

PM2 is a process manager that keeps your app running:

# Install PM2 globally
npm install -g pm2

# Start the application
pm2 start app.js --name gradescope-submitter

# Save the process list
pm2 save

# Set up startup script (runs on server reboot)
pm2 startup

PM2 Commands

Command	Description
pm2 start app.js	Start the server
pm2 restart all	Restart all processes
pm2 stop all	Stop all processes
pm2 logs	View logs
pm2 monit	Monitor dashboard

Step 5: Verify Installation

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:3000/mockD2L.html

You should see the mock D2L interface with the code editor.

Directory Structure After Installation

gradescope-submitter/
├── app.js                 # Main Express server
├── gradescope.js          # Gradescope API submission logic
├── .env                   # Environment variables (you created this)
├── package.json           # Dependencies and scripts
├── node_modules/          # Installed packages
├── codemirror-demo.html   # Code editor UI
├── starters/              # Starter code templates
├── styles/                # CSS files
└── testing/               # Test files

Next Steps

• Environment Configuration — Configure all environment variables
• Gradescope Setup — Set up your Gradescope course
• HTTPS Configuration — Enable HTTPS for production