> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tempestai.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Get Tempest running locally in minutes

Get Tempest up and running on your machine. The build process orchestrates Rust and TypeScript compilation, the React frontend, and Tauri bundling into installers.

## Prerequisites

<Steps>
  <Step title="Node.js 18 or later">
    Download from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org). Tempest uses Node for the React frontend build and npm scripts.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Rust 1.77 or later">
    Install from [rustup.rs](https://rustup.rs). Tauri compiles the native backend with Rust.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Windows: WebView2 Runtime">
    Windows only. Download from [Microsoft Edge WebView2](https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/). This is the rendering engine for the Tauri window.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Installation and setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Clone the repository">
    ```bash theme={null}
    git clone https://github.com/gsvprharsha/tempest
    cd tempest
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install dependencies">
    ```bash theme={null}
    npm install
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Build workspace assets">
    ```bash theme={null}
    npm run setup
    ```

    This builds the Atlas workspace and bundles its resources. Required before development or production builds.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Run in development mode

Start the dev server with live reload:

```bash theme={null}
npm run dev
```

This command:

1. Builds the Atlas workspace and starts the Vite dev server on `http://localhost:1420`
2. Launches the Tauri app window with hot module replacement (HMR) on port 1421
3. Reloads React components, TypeScript, and styles instantly in the window

The app runs against the frontend dev server, not bundled assets. Tauri watches `http://localhost:1420` and rebuilds the Rust backend only when `src-tauri/` changes.

## Build for production

Create installers and bundles:

```bash theme={null}
npm run build
```

This command:

1. Builds Atlas and transpiles TypeScript, then Vite bundles the React frontend to `dist/`
2. Compiles the Rust backend
3. Bundles everything into a Windows NSIS installer and updater artifacts
4. Outputs installers to `dist-installers/` along with updater metadata

The production build optimizes the Rust binary for size with link-time optimization (LTO), code-generation unit optimization, and symbol stripping.

## Build only the frontend

To bundle the React app without running Tauri:

```bash theme={null}
npm run build:frontend
```

Output goes to `dist/`. This is useful for debugging frontend issues or testing the production bundle separately.

## Development tips

* **Frontend-only development**: Run `npm run dev:frontend` to start just the Vite dev server on port 1420 without launching the Tauri window
* **Preview production build**: Run `npm run preview` to test the bundled frontend in a browser
* **Tauri CLI**: Access Tauri commands directly with `npm run tauri <command>`. For example, `npm run tauri info` shows your development environment info

## Project structure

* `src/` : React TypeScript frontend code
* `src-tauri/` : Rust backend code
* `packages/atlas/` : Workspace containing code intelligence and token-graph features
* `dist/` : Frontend build output (created by `vite build`)
* `dist-installers/` : Platform-specific installers (created by `tauri build`)
* `resources/` : Assets bundled into the app at runtime

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Theme System" icon="palette" href="/themes/overview">
    Customize colors, typography, and radius using the `--tempest-*` CSS variable system.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Workspaces" icon="layout-grid" href="/workspaces/overview">
    Learn how workspaces are created, stored, and switched at runtime.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>