Build a Real-Time Crypto Tracker with TimescaleDB

Build a Real-Time Crypto Tracker with TimescaleDB

Prerequisites

• Go 1.18+
• Node.js 18+ and npm/yarn
• Docker and Docker Compose

Getting Started

1. Start the Database

docker compose up -d

This starts TimescaleDB which is required for both the backend and frontend.

To stop the database:

docker compose down -v

2. Environment Variables

Both the backend and frontend use .env files. Configure them before running:

Backend (.env in root):

TIMESCALE_SERVICE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@127.0.0.1:5432/timescale_db
PGPASSWORD=password
PGUSER=postgres
PGDATABASE=timescale_db
PGHOST=127.0.0.1
PGPORT=5432
PGSSLMODE=disable
COIN_GECKO_API_KEY=<your-coingecko-api-key>

Frontend (.env in tiger-tracker-frontend/):

TIMESCALE_SERVICE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@127.0.0.1:5432/timescale_db?sslmode=disable
PGPASSWORD=password
PGUSER=postgres
PGDATABASE=timescale_db
PGHOST=127.0.0.1
PGPORT=5432
PGSSLMODE=disable
COIN_GECKO_API_KEY=<your-coingecko-api-key>

3. Run the Go Backend

The Go backend ingests crypto prices from the CoinGecko API and stores them in TimescaleDB every 30 seconds.

go run main.go

You should see output like:

Calling Coin Gecko API...
API Response as struct {...}

The backend will continue running in the foreground, periodically fetching and storing price data.

4. Run the Next.js Frontend

In a new terminal, navigate to the frontend directory and start the development server:

cd tiger-tracker-frontend
npm install  # if you haven't already
npm run dev

The frontend will be available at http://localhost:3000

Architecture

• Backend (Go): Runs a continuous price ingestion process that fetches BTC, ETH, and SOL prices from CoinGecko and stores them in TimescaleDB
• Frontend (Next.js): Web UI that displays crypto price data stored in the database
• Database (TimescaleDB): Time-series database for storing historical price data