DevDash

DevDash is a unified desktop dashboard for managing all your Node.js, React, and TypeScript projects. It operates as a local Electron application that lives in your system tray, allowing you to import projects, view available scripts, start/stop local development servers, and stream real-time terminal outputs in a clean, professional, and dynamic dark-mode interface.

Features

• Desktop Native App: Runs seamlessly in the background and lives in your system tray for quick access.
• Project Management: Add any Node/JS/TS projects by their local path.
• Auto-Discovery: Automatically parses package.json to extract scripts and dependency counts.
• Process Management: Start, stop, and restart development servers (dev, build, etc.) with a single click.
• Real-Time Terminal Logs: Streams stdout and stderr directly into the UI via WebSockets.
• Multiple Themes: Includes carefully curated themes (Light, Dark, Dracula, Nord, Monokai) tailored to different developer aesthetics.
• Port Conflict Detection: Automatically detects EADDRINUSE errors and offers a one-click "Kill Port" button to free up occupied ports.
• Single-Instance Lock: Prevents duplicate app instances from running; opening the app again seamlessly brings your existing dashboard to the front.
• System Tray Integration: Clicking the 'X' hides the app to your system tray so processes keep running silently in the background. Right-click the tray icon to fully quit.
• Quick IDE Access: Open any project directly in Visual Studio Code from the dashboard.
• Git Integration: View the current Git branch and uncommitted changes count.
• Environment Editor: View and edit .env files directly from the UI.

Architecture

DevDash is a monolithic repository combining three main layers:

• Electron: Handles native OS interactions, system tray integration, and packaging.
• Backend: Node.js + Express + Socket.IO server that proxies commands and monitors child processes.
• Frontend: React + Vite single-page application tailored with modern, responsive CSS styling.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+ recommended)
• npm

Installation for Development

1. Clone this repository.

2. Install all dependencies from the root directory:

   npm install

   (Note: This uses a postinstall hook to automatically install the backend and frontend dependencies).

3. Run the application in development mode:

   npm run dev

   This command starts the Node.js backend, fires up the Vite frontend server, and launches the Electron wrapper seamlessly.

Building for Production

DevDash can be compiled into a single-file .exe Portable App (no installation required) using electron-builder.

To build the executable:

npm run build

Once the build finishes, you will find DevDash-Portable.exe in the release/ directory.

Note on Data Storage: In production, your project configurations and data are safely persisted in your system's native AppData directory (e.g., C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\devdash\data).

License

MIT License