Getting started with Boof Runner

Install Boof Runner, build the web UI and CLI, run the desktop app and update from source.

#Quick start

bun install          # or: npm install
npm run build        # build the web UI + the CLI bundle
npm run dev          # run from source (tsx) — boots web + runner

Then open the URL it prints (default http://127.0.0.1:4319).

On first run Boof Runner scaffolds the data root (./data by default): the tasks/ status directories, a commands/ folder, and settings.json.

#Desktop app

npm run desktop      # build the UI + Electron bundle, then launch the window

The desktop app boots the same Hono server and runner in its main process and opens the UI in a native window. Its data root lives in the per-user app-data directory, so settings persist across launches.

On first launch it asks for the working directory (a full-screen picker that opens a native folder dialog). The choice is saved to settings.json and never asked again; change it any time via the folder icon in the top-right header.

#Running the built CLI

node bin/dist/boof-runner.js          # after `npm run build`
boof-runner                      # after `npm install -g .`

#Install or update from source

bash scripts/install-or-update-boof-runner.sh

The script clones or fast-forwards the source checkout, installs dependencies, builds the web UI and CLI, and globally links the boof-runner command. Set BOOF_RUNNER_DIR, BOOF_RUNNER_REPO, or BOOF_RUNNER_BRANCH to override the source location. The default remote is git@github.com:YaminT/boof.git.