Cornerstone

A template to help build desktop apps with Vue.js and Python.

About This Template

Cornerstone is a starter template for building cross-platform desktop applications using:

• Frontend: Vue.js 3 with Vite for fast development
• Backend: Python with a REST API
• Package Managers: Bun for Node.js, UV for Python
• Testing: Vitest for frontend, Pytest for backend, Cypress for E2E

Prerequisites

• Node.js (latest LTS recommended)
• Python 3.8+
• Bun.js (will be auto-installed if missing)
• UV (will be auto-installed if missing)

Getting Started

1. Setup Development Environment

Run the setup command to install all dependencies:

npm run setup

What to expect:

• ✓ Checks for Bun.js and installs it if needed
• ✓ Checks for UV (Python package manager) and installs it if needed
• ✓ Installs Node.js dependencies using Bun
• ✓ Installs Python dependencies using UV
• Clear console messages showing each step of the process

2. Start the Application

Once setup is complete, start the development server:

bun run start

What to expect:

• ✓ Launches the Vue.js frontend development server
• ✓ Starts the Python backend API server
• ✓ Both servers run concurrently with hot-reload enabled
• ✓ Application will be available in your browser (typically http://localhost:5173)

Project Structure

cornerstone/
├── app/                   # Python backend
│   ├── api.py             # API routes
│   ├── models.py          # Database models
│   ├── database.py        # Database configuration
│   └── __tests__/         # Python unit tests
├── ui/                    # Vue.js frontend
│   ├── App.vue            # Main component
│   ├── router.js          # Route configuration
│   ├── main.js            # Entry point
│   ├── pages/             # Page components
│   ├── stores/            # Pinia state management
│   └── __tests__/         # Frontend tests
├── cypress/               # End-to-end tests
└── commands/              # Setup and build scripts

Testing Builds (Only available for Windows at the moment)

Run the bun run build:win command then navigate to the cornerstone\dist\Cornerstone will a Cornerstone.exe file has been generated. Click on the .exe file to start the desktop app. You should see "Hello World!" text on the screen.

Available Commands

Command	Purpose
bun run setup	Initialize development environment
bun run start	Start development servers
bun run test:ui:unit	Run all frontend unit tests
bun run test:app	Run python unit tests
bun run build:win	Builds a .exe file for Windows

Development Notes

• The setup script handles virtual environment management via UV
• Both frontend and backend servers support hot-reload during development
• Tests can be run independently for frontend (vitest) and backend (pytest)

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during setup:

1. Ensure you have Node.js and Python installed
2. Run bun run setup again to reinstall dependencies
3. Check that Bun and UV installed successfully