From a7ec0e3cde5278ca98e409a8c22c04c388614062 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Joe Arndt <jmarndt@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2026 23:27:27 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] updated readme

---
 README.md | 26 ++++++++++++++------------
 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6fbebe1..d90fe47 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -10,31 +10,35 @@ npm install
 ```
 
 ## Run Locally
-Start the API on [localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000)
+Start the API:
 ```bash
 npm run start:dev
 ```
+Verify running via the [healthcheck](http://localhost:3000/common-cents/health) endpoint.
+
 Default port (`3000`) can be changed by setting the `PORT=xxxx` environment variable.
 
 ### Database
-There are two databases that are supported:
-- Postgres (recommended)
-- SQLite (default for simplicity)
+Supported configurations:
+- SQLite (default)
+- Local Postgres
+- External Postgres (recommended)
 
-For simplicity SQLite is used as the database in the `default`/`unconfigured` state.
+For simplicity, SQLite is used in the `default`/`unconfigured` state.
 
-Using Postgres is pretty simple, by default the API is looking for a locally running instance, which can be satisfied by running the following `docker` container:
+To use Postgres set the `DB_TYPE=postgres` environment variable. Postgres defaults will look for a local instance, which can be satisfied by running the following `docker` container:
 ```bash
 docker run --name common-cents-db -e POSTGRES_USER=common-cents -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=CommonCents_123! -p 5432:5432 -d postgres
 ```
 
-To specify Postgres as the database, set the `DB_TYPE=postgres` environment variable.
-
-Alternatively, an external Postgres can be configured through additional environment variables. To simplify all of this, use an `env`file placed in the root directory (`common-cents-api/.env`):
+For external Postgres, configure additional environment variables. To simplify this, use an `env` file placed in the root directory (`common-cents-api/.env`):
 ```text
 # .env
 
-# Type 'sqlite' or 'postgres' (if not set sqlite will be used)
+# API port
+PORT=3000
+
+# Either 'sqlite' or 'postgres' (if not set sqlite will be used)
 DB_TYPE=sqlite
 
 # Sync should be false for production
@@ -47,8 +51,6 @@ PG_USER=common-cents
 PG_PASS=CommonCents_123!
 ```
 
-
-
 ## Bruno
 The included `bruno` folder contains a collection of calls to make it more convenient to interact with the API. Local calls assume the default NestJS port (`3000`) is being used.