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Frequently Asked Questions

General​

What is Cascadia PLM?​

Cascadia is an open-source, code-first Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system. Unlike traditional low-code PLM systems, Cascadia is designed for developers who want full control over customization through TypeScript code.

What license is Cascadia released under?​

Cascadia is released under the AGPL-3.0 license, which allows free use, modification, and distribution while requiring that derivative works also be open source.

What databases does Cascadia support?​

Cascadia is designed specifically for PostgreSQL 18+. This allows us to leverage PostgreSQL's advanced features like JSONB, full-text search, and robust transaction support.

Installation & Setup​

What are the system requirements?​

Minimum:

  • Node.js 20+
  • PostgreSQL 18+
  • 4GB RAM
  • 20GB storage

Recommended for production:

  • 8GB+ RAM
  • 100GB+ storage
  • SSD storage

Can I use MySQL or SQLite instead of PostgreSQL?​

No, Cascadia is built specifically for PostgreSQL. We use PostgreSQL-specific features throughout the codebase and don't plan to support other databases.

Does Cascadia work on Windows?​

Yes! Cascadia runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Use the provided create-db.bat script on Windows for database setup.

Features​

What item types does Cascadia support?​

Built-in item types include:

  • Parts - Manufacturing parts with BOM relationships
  • Documents - File attachments and documentation
  • Change Orders - ECO/ECN change management
  • Requirements - Requirements tracking
  • Tasks - Work items with Kanban support

You can also create custom item types using the registry pattern.

Does Cascadia support file versioning?​

Yes, the vault system tracks versions of all files. Each file revision is stored and can be retrieved.

Can I integrate Cascadia with ERP systems?​

Yes, Cascadia exposes a REST API that can be used for integration. The jobs system (when fully implemented) will support scheduled sync tasks.

Does Cascadia support workflows?​

Yes, Cascadia includes a workflow system for managing item lifecycle states. You can define custom states and transitions for each item type.

Development​

How do I add a custom item type?​

See the Adding Item Types guide. The basic steps are:

  1. Define TypeScript interface and Zod schema
  2. Create database table
  3. Build UI components
  4. Register the type
  5. Create API and UI routes

Can I customize the UI?​

Yes, the UI is built with React and Tailwind CSS. You can customize:

  • Base components in src/components/ui/
  • Item-specific components in src/components/{type}/
  • Styles via Tailwind configuration

How do I run tests?​

npm run test          # Unit/integration tests
npm run test:e2e      # End-to-end tests

See the Testing Guide for details.

Deployment​

What deployment options are available?​

  • Single Server - All components on one machine
  • Distributed - Separate app, jobs, and infrastructure servers
  • Kubernetes - Container orchestration with auto-scaling
  • Cloud Database - Managed PostgreSQL (RDS, Cloud SQL, Azure)

See the Deployment Guide for details.

How do I set up HTTPS?​

For production, use a reverse proxy (Nginx, Traefik) or load balancer to handle TLS termination. See the deployment guides for examples.

How do I back up my data?​

Use PostgreSQL's pg_dump for database backups:

pg_dump -U postgres -d cascadia > backup.sql

Also back up the vault storage directory. See Backup & Recovery.

Security​

How is authentication handled?​

Cascadia uses session-based authentication. Sessions are stored in the database with secure cookies. OAuth providers (GitHub, Google, Microsoft) are also supported.

What permissions are available?​

Role-based access control (RBAC) with:

  • User role (basic access)
  • Administrator role (full access)

Program-based access control (PBAC) restricts access to items within programs a user belongs to.

Is data encrypted?​

  • In transit: Yes, use HTTPS in production
  • At rest: Use PostgreSQL and storage encryption (available on managed services)
  • Sessions: Session data is encrypted with SESSION_SECRET

Performance​

How many users can Cascadia support?​

This depends on your deployment:

  • Single server: < 50 concurrent users
  • Distributed: 50-500 concurrent users
  • Kubernetes: 500+ concurrent users with proper scaling

How can I improve performance?​

  1. Use managed database with proper sizing
  2. Enable connection pooling
  3. Add read replicas for read-heavy workloads
  4. Use S3/MinIO for file storage
  5. Scale app servers horizontally

Troubleshooting​

Where are the log files?​

Cascadia logs to stdout. In Docker, use:

docker-compose logs -f cascadia-app

For detailed logs:

LOG_LEVEL=debug npm run dev

How do I reset my admin password?​

Use the database directly:

-- Update with a new hashed password
UPDATE users SET password_hash = '...' WHERE email = 'admin@example.com';

Or delete the user and re-run the seed script.

My changes aren't showing up​

  1. Clear browser cache
  2. Restart the dev server
  3. Check for build errors
  4. Verify database connection

Contributing​

How can I contribute?​

See the Contributing Guide. We welcome:

  • Bug reports
  • Feature requests
  • Pull requests
  • Documentation improvements

Where do I report bugs?​

Open an issue on GitHub with:

  • Steps to reproduce
  • Expected vs actual behavior
  • Error messages
  • Environment details

Getting Help​

Where can I get support?​

  • Check this documentation
  • Search GitHub Issues
  • Open a new issue
  • Join community discussions

Is commercial support available?​

Coming Soon

Commercial support options are being developed.