Building from source

Step by step on Linux (x64), the system the project is built and tested on. Windows and macOS have their own pages: Windows, macOS.

#What you need

• Git.
• Node.js 22 (the version in .nvmrc), with npm. With nvm: nvm install && nvm use in the project folder.
• No compiler. better-sqlite3 13 ships a ready N-API module for Linux x64, which works in both Node and Electron, so nothing is rebuilt.
• For the window on a server without a desktop, and for the end-to-end tests: xvfb.
• For the .deb package: dpkg and fakeroot; for its checks desktop-file-utils and lintian.

On Debian or Ubuntu, the libraries Electron needs and the package tools, as CI installs them:

sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends fakeroot dpkg xvfb libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libgtk-3-0 \
  libgbm1 libasound2t64 libxss1 desktop-file-utils lintian

(On older releases the sound library is libasound2.)

#Get the source and install

git clone <project address>.git nodewise-studio
cd nodewise-studio
npm ci

#Build and run

npm run build      # dist/main, dist/renderer, dist/notices, dist/help
npm start          # builds, then opens the app
npm run dev        # Vite with live reload, and Electron

npm start and npm run dev use the same data folder as an installed app. To keep a test profile apart, pass --user-data-dir: npx electron . --user-data-dir=/tmp/nodewise-test after npm run build.

#Check your change

npm test
npm run type-check
xvfb-run -a npx playwright test --trace off --grep-invert "live-local|layout-walk"

More: Testing.

#Make the package

npm run package:linux

Builds dist/, makes the .deb in out/make/deb/x64/ through Electron Forge and runs scripts/smoke-linux-package.js on it. Install it with sudo apt install ./out/make/deb/x64/<file>.deb. More: Package formats.

#Keep it up to date

git pull
npm ci
npm run build

#See also

• For developers
• Package formats
• Contributing