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Run the Server

This gets a game server running on your machine and a client connected to it. First complete Install from scratch (you need the .NET 9 SDK and the RabiRiichi checkout with submodules initialized).

Start it​

# from the RabiRiichi checkout
dotnet run --project RabiRiichi.Server/RabiRiichi.Server.csproj

In the default Development environment the server listens on http://localhost:5150, which exposes the WebSocket endpoints:

  • ws://localhost:5150/ws/public — anonymous requests (info, create user, fetch replay)
  • ws://localhost:5150/ws/connect — the authenticated game session

Development mode also seeds the RNG deterministically (seed 0), so local games are reproducible.

Connect a client​

You have two easy options:

  1. Run the web client locally and choose the built-in Local (localhost:5150) server preset. This is the recommended path because it avoids browser security restrictions — see Host the web client.

  2. Use the official web client and add a custom server address.

    HTTPS → ws:// is blocked

    The official client is served over HTTPS and browsers won't let an HTTPS page open an insecure ws:// socket. So ws://localhost:5150 won't work from https://riichi.rabimimi.com. Run the client locally over HTTP, or put your server behind TLS (wss://).

Once connected, pick a nickname and you're in the Lobby — see Play online → step by step for the room flow (it's identical regardless of which server you're on).

Configuration​

The server reads a few environment variables. All are optional for local play:

VariableDefaultMeaning
JWT_SECRETdev value in launchSettings.jsonHMAC key for signing auth tokens. Set a strong value in production.
ASPNETCORE_URLShttp://localhost:5150 (Dev)Which address/port to bind.
RABIRIICHI_GAME_SAVE_DIRunsetDirectory to store replays. Unset ⇒ replays disabled.
RABIRIICHI_GAME_SAVE_TTLunsetReplay retention in seconds; enables hourly cleanup. Unset ⇒ keep forever.

Example — run on all interfaces, port 5000, with replays enabled:

ASPNETCORE_URLS="http://0.0.0.0:5000" \
RABIRIICHI_GAME_SAVE_DIR="./saves" \
JWT_SECRET="$(openssl rand -hex 32)" \
dotnet run --project RabiRiichi.Server/RabiRiichi.Server.csproj

Clients would then connect to ws://<your-host>:5000.

Play against bots only​

You don't need other people: create a room and use Add AI to fill the empty seats. The server auto-readies bots, so the game starts as soon as the room is full. There are two AI types — a dummy (always default) and a rule-based bot. See AI agents.

Next steps​