Welcome to The Ledger

In this module, we are getting the Ledger ready for development. The visual interface is already prepared, so we can spend the course building the behavior and data flow instead of recreating the design.

Here is what you will do, in order:

1. Open the course starter and identify the two application sides: client and server.
2. Install the dependencies and run both development servers together.
3. Confirm that the React interface loads and the Express API answers a health check.
4. Trace the main files so you understand where the browser UI, shared state, API calls, server routes, and saved data live.

By the end of the module, you should be able to answer a simple question without guessing: when the Ledger needs data, where does that data come from, and where would we change the code that controls it?

What you will have at the end

The starter will be running locally, you will know the purpose of the main project folders, and you will be ready to start implementing features in Module 2.

What we are not doing yet

We are not adding transactions, editing entries, building summaries, or changing the financial rules in this module. Those features come after the project structure is familiar.

Checkpoint

You know the four steps ahead and can describe the role of the client, server, and data file in one sentence each.