# Build from Source

Build the Multimodal DataPrep microservice from source to customize, debug, or extend its
functionality. In this guide, you will:

- Set up your development environment.
- Compile the source code and resolve dependencies.
- Generate a runnable build for local testing or deployment.

This guide is ideal for developers who want to work directly with the source code.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure the following:

- **System Requirements**: Verify your system meets the [minimum requirements](./system-requirements.md).
- This guide assumes basic familiarity with Git commands, Python virtual environments, and
  terminal usage. If you are new to these concepts, see:
  - [Git Documentation](https://git-scm.com/doc)
  - [Python Virtual Environments](https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/venv.html)

## Steps to Build

Following options are provided to build the microservice.

### Setup in a container using Docker Script

1. Clone the repository and change to project directory:

   ```bash
   # Clone the release branch
   git clone https://github.com/open-edge-platform/edge-ai-libraries.git edge-ai-libraries -b release-2026.2.0

   cd edge-ai-libraries/microservices/visual-data-preparation-for-retrieval/multimodal-dataprep
   ```

2. Set the required environment variables:

   ```bash
   # OPTIONAL - If you want to push the built images to a remote container registry, you need to name the images accordingly. For this, image name should include the registry URL as well. To do this, set the following environment variable from shell. Please note that this URL will be prefixed to the application name and tag to form the final image name.

   export REGISTRY_URL=<your-registry-url>
   export TAG=<your-tag> # Default: latest
   ```

   Refer to the [environment variables](../get-started.md#environment-variables) setup section and configure the required variables.

3. Build the Multimodal DataPrep Docker image. This uses the `microservices/` build context so the local `multimodal-embedding-serving` source dependency is available during image build.

   ```bash
   ./build.sh
   ```

   > **Note:** The script automatically honours `REGISTRY_URL`, `PROJECT_NAME`, and `TAG` (just like `setup.sh`).

4. Verify the configuration.

   ```bash
   source ./setup.sh --conf
   ```

   This will output Docker Compose configs with all the environment variables resolved. You can verify whether they appear as expected.

5. Spin up the services.

   Run the following command to start all services in daemon mode:

   ```bash
   # Run all services in daemon mode
   source ./setup.sh
   ```

   Alternatively, you can run the services in non-daemon mode to see logs on STDOUT:

   ```bash
   # Run all services in non-daemon mode (logs on STDOUT)
   source ./setup.sh --nd
   ```

6. Tear down all the services.

   ```bash
   source ./setup.sh --down
   ```

## Validation

To verify build success, check the logs. Look for confirmation messages indicating the
microservice started successfully.

## Troubleshooting

## Supporting Resources

- [Overview](../index.md)
- [System Requirements](./system-requirements.md)
- [API Reference](../api-reference.md)