Backend content to README

README.md

@@ -297,4 +297,17 @@ git push -f
 - PRs can contain multiple commits, they do not need to be squashed together before merging as long as each commit is atomic. Our repo is configured to only allow squash commits to `main` so the entire PR will appear as 1 commit on `main`, but the individual commits are preserved when viewing the PR.
 
 ## Secrets
-Secrets are stored in the Environment Variable [file](https://www.notion.so/uwblueprintexecs/Environment-Variables-11910f3fb1dc80e4bc67d35c3d65d073?pvs=4) within the LLSC notion.
+Secrets are stored in the Environment Variable [file](https://www.notion.so/uwblueprintexecs/Environment-Variables-11910f3fb1dc80e4bc67d35c3d65d073?pvs=4) within the LLSC notion.
+
+## Migrations (mirrors [backend README](./backend/README.md))
+
+We use Alembic for database schema migrations. We mainly use migration scripts to keep track of the incremental and in theory revertible changes that have occurred on the database. But, we don't need to rely on this to build the datebase itself, as `Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)` achieves that based on the current models. To create a new migration, run the following command after adding or editing models in `backend/app/models.py`:
+```bash
+cd backend
+pdm run alembic revision --autogenerate -m "<migration message>"
+```
+
+To apply the migration, run the following command:
+```bash
+pdm run alembic upgrade head
+```

backend/README.md

@@ -1 +1,60 @@
 # llsc-backend
+
+## Setup (mirrors [base README](../README.md#setup))
+- Install pdm (this is a global installation, so location doesn't matter)
+On macOS:
+```bash
+brew install pdm
+```
+Otherwise, feel free to follow install instructions [here](https://pdm-project.org/latest/#installation)
+
+You will then need to go into each directory individually to install dependencies.
+
+FastAPI backend
+```bash
+cd backend
+pdm install
+```
+
+To run the backend server locally (recommended for development), run the following command:
+```bash
+cd backend
+pdm run dev
+```
+
+To check if the database has been started up, type the following:
+```bash
+ docker ps | grep llsc_db
+```
+This checks the list of docker containers and searchs for the container name `llsc_db`
+
+
+## Formatting and Linting (mirrors [formatting in base README](../README.md#formatting-and-linting))
+
+### Ruff
+
+We use Ruff for code linting and formatting in the backend. To check for and automatically fix linting issues:
+
+```bash
+cd backend
+pdm run ruff check --fix .
+```
+
+To format the code:
+```bash
+cd backend
+pdm run ruff format .
+```
+
+## Migrations
+
+We use Alembic for database schema migrations. We mainly use migration scripts to keep track of the incremental and in theory revertible changes that have occurred on the database. But, we don't need to rely on this to build the datebase itself, as `Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)` achieves that based on the current models. To create a new migration, run the following command after adding or editing models in `backend/app/models.py`:
+```bash
+cd backend
+pdm run alembic revision --autogenerate -m "<migration message>"
+```
+
+To apply the migration, run the following command:
+```bash
+pdm run alembic upgrade head
+```