stoat-for-desktop/README.md

Stoat for Desktop

Application for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Installation

• All downloads and instructions for Stoat can be found on our Website.

Development Guide

Contribution guidelines for Desktop app TBA!

Before getting started, you'll want to install:

• Git
• mise-en-place

Windows notes

If pnpm fails in PowerShell with running scripts is disabled (pnpm.ps1):

• Run: Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
• Close and reopen Powershell, then try pnpm again.

If native modules fail to build (node-gyp errors, missing cl or msbuild):

• Install "Build Tools for Visual Studio 2022" with "Desktop development with C++" (MSVC v143 and Windows SDK).
• Run commands from "x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022" (or "Developer Powershell for VS 2022") so cl.exe and msbuild.exe are on PATH.

Then proceed to setup:

# clone the repository
git clone --recursive https://github.com/stoatchat/for-desktop stoat-for-desktop
cd stoat-for-desktop

# Install tools from mise
mise install

# install all packages
mise install:frozen

# start the application
mise dev
# ... or build the bundle
mise build
# ... or build all distributables
mise make

Various useful commands for development testing:

# connect to the development server
mise exec -- pnpm start -- --force-server http://localhost:5173

# test the flatpak (after `make`)
mise exec -- pnpm install:flatpak
mise exec -- pnpm run:flatpak
# ... also connect to dev server like so:
mise exec -- pnpm run:flatpak --force-server http://localhost:5173

# Nix-specific instructions for testing
pnpm package
pnpm run:nix
# ... as before:
pnpm run:nix --force-server=http://localhost:5173
# a better solution would be telling
# Electron Forge where system Electron is

Pulling in Stoat's assets

If you want to pull in Stoat brand assets after pulling, run the following:

# update the assets
mise assets

Currently, this is required to build, any forks are expected to provide their own assets.