update CONTRIBUTING.md and README.md files for dashboard (#35093)

GitOrigin-RevId: 00de059f2a3175fee28cf72eeeb45da645082464

Author: atrakh

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -23,3 +23,12 @@ with our product plans. We are generally unlikely to take large or fundamental
 changes as community contributions. We think carefully about how our APIs
 contribute to a cohesive product in line with our roadmap, so we cannot promise
 that larger PRs will get the same level of attention.
+
+Instructions for building and running Convex packages locally:
+
+- [Building the backend and CLI from source](BUILD.md)
+- [Running the dashboard](npm-packages/dashboard-self-hosted/README.md)
+
+Note: If you just want to self-host Convex and not modify the codebase, we
+recommend using the pre-built Docker image or binary. See the
+[self-hosted README](../self-hosted/README.md) for more information.

Justfile

@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ set positional-arguments
 run-local-backend *ARGS:
   cargo run -p local_backend --bin convex-local-backend -- "$@"
 
+run-dashboard *ARGS:
+  cd {{justfile_directory()}}/npm-packages/dashboard-self-hosted; NEXT_PUBLIC_DEPLOYMENT_URL="$@" npm run dev
+
 # Uses an admin key from admin_key.txt for dev backends.
 # This uses the default admin key for local backends, which is safe as long as the backend is
 # running locally.
@@ -42,3 +45,4 @@ reset-local-backend:
 # (*) rush, the monorepo JS tool for deps and building
 rush *ARGS:
   cd {{invocation_directory()}}; "{{justfile_directory()}}/scripts/rush_from_npm-packages.sh" "$@"
+

npm-packages/dashboard-common/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# dashboard-common
+
+This package is shared code used by the [`dashboard`](../dashboard/README.md)
+(Convex Cloud) and [`dashboard-self-hosted`](../dashboard-self-hosted/README.md)
+(self-hosted Convex).
+
+## Development
+
+You cannot run this code directly, but you may run the `dashboard` and
+`dashboard-self-hosted` packages locally to test changes.

npm-packages/dashboard-self-hosted/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# dashboard-self-hosted
+
+This is the dashboard for the self-hosted version of Convex. You may run this
+code locally to test changes.
+
+## Configuration
+
+To use the scripts set up in this repo you'll need to install
+[`Just`](https://github.com/casey/just)
+
+- Just is used to execute scripts set up in the `Justfile`.
+- To install it see
+  [Packages](https://github.com/casey/just?tab=readme-ov-file#packages), for
+  example `cargo install just` or `brew install just`
+
+Next you'll need the URL to your Convex deployment. This URL can point to a
+deployment hosted locally, remotely, or on Convex Cloud (URL found on the
+deployment settings page: https://dashboard.convex.dev/deployment/settings)
+
+One time setup:
+
+```
+# Install dependencies
+just rush install
+
+# Build the project's dependencies
+just rush build -T dashboard-self-hosted
+```
+
+Run the dashboard:
+
+```
+just run-dashboard "YOUR_DEPLOYMENT_URL"
+```

npm-packages/dashboard/README.md

@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 # Convex Dashboard
 
+This is the dashboard for Convex Cloud. If you intend to contribute to the
+self-hosted dashboard, see the
+[dashboard-self-hosted README](../dashboard-self-hosted/README.md). You may also
+connect the self-hosted dashboard to a Convex Cloud deployment.
+
+The following instructions are intended for Convex employees developing the
+Cloud hosted dashboard.
+
 ## Running against a local `big-brain`.
 
 ### First time setup