By the end of this guide you will have a fully functional La Mubi instance running on your machine. You will clone the repository, wire up a free TMDB API key so the game can fetch real movie data, install dependencies, and boot the Next.js development server — all in under five minutes. Once it is running, you can jump straight into a Charades or Impostor session with your group.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/dlampatricio/lamubi/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18 or later — nodejs.org
- npm (bundled with Node.js), yarn, or pnpm
- A free TMDB account — needed to generate the API key that powers all movie data
- A modern browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge (Chromium-based recommended for best animation performance)
Steps
Get a TMDB API key
La Mubi fetches movie posters, synopses, directors, and genres from The Movie Database (TMDB). Creating an account and generating a key is completely free.
- Sign up or log in at themoviedb.org.
- Navigate to Settings → API at https://www.themoviedb.org/settings/api.
- Request a Developer API key and fill in the short application form (personal / hobby use is always approved).
- Copy the API Key (v3 auth) — you will paste it into your
.envfile in step 4.
Create the .env file
Create a Replace
.env file in the project root and add your TMDB API key:.env
your_key_here with the API Key (v3 auth) you copied in step 1.Never commit your
.env file to version control. La Mubi’s .gitignore already excludes it, so your key stays local.Start the dev server
Launch the Next.js development server:Once the server is ready, open http://localhost:3000 in your browser. You should see the La Mubi lobby screen.
Configure and play
From the lobby you can go directly into a game:
- Choose a mode — select Charades for team-based silent acting, or Impostor for social-deduction bluffing.
- Add teams and players — enter team names and the names of all participants.
- Set the timer — pick 30 s, 60 s, or 90 s per round depending on how competitive your group is.
- Start the game — hit the start button, pass the device to the first player, and let the chaos begin.
Available Scripts
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
npm run dev | Start the Next.js development server with hot reload at localhost:3000 |
npm run build | Compile and bundle the application for production |
npm start | Start the production server (requires a completed build) |
npm run lint | Run ESLint across the codebase to catch type and style issues |