Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/DevToys-app/DevToys/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
This guide covers how to build the core DevToys application and DevToys CLI from source. Note that these instructions apply to the app shell itself — the built-in tools (converters, formatters, generators, etc.) live in a separate repository and have their own build steps. All three major desktop platforms are supported: Windows, macOS, and Linux.
These instructions build DevToys without the built-in tools (converters, formatters, etc.). To build DevToys with all default tools included, clone the DevToys.Tools repository and follow the CONTRIBUTING.md in that repo alongside these steps. Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure the following are installed on your machine:Setup & Build
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DevToys-app/DevToys.git
Install Nuke.Build CLI tooling
Open a PowerShell prompt in the root of the cloned repository and run:dotnet tool install Nuke.GlobalTool --global
Restore all dependencies
Still in the repository root, run the initialization script:This script restores NuGet packages and Node.js dependencies needed for the build. Open the solution in Visual Studio 2022
Open src/DevToys-Windows.sln in Visual Studio 2022.
Set the startup project
In Solution Explorer, right-click the project you want to run and choose Set as Startup Project:
app/dev/platforms/desktop/DevToys.Windows — the full desktop applicationapp/dev/platforms/desktop/DevToys.CLI — the command-line interface
Build and run
Press F5 to build and launch DevToys with the debugger attached.
Most of the DevToys.Windows app renders inside a WebView2 browser control. Press F12 while the app is running to open the web developer tools and inspect or debug the Blazor UI layer directly.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure the following are installed on your machine:
- macOS 12.0 or later
- Xcode 15.0 or later — run it at least once after installation to let it install the built-in macOS and iOS tooling
- Visual Studio Code with the C# Dev Kit extension, or JetBrains Rider
Visual Studio for Mac is not supported — it is a deprecated product and does not support .NET 8.0.
- .NET 8.0 SDK (version 8.0.100 or later). If you are on a Mac with Apple Silicon, install the arm64 variant. Verify your installation with
dotnet --version.
- Node.js 14.0 or later (required to build Monaco Editor)
- Apple Silicon only: install Rosetta 2 if not already present:
softwareupdate --install-rosetta
Setup & Build
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DevToys-app/DevToys.git
Install Nuke.Build CLI tooling
Open a Terminal in the repository root and run:dotnet tool install Nuke.GlobalTool --global
Restore all dependencies
Run the initialization script from the repository root: Open the solution and run
JetBrains Rider:
- Open
src/DevToys-MacOS.sln in Rider.
- Set
app/dev/platforms/desktop/DevToys.MacOS or app/dev/platforms/desktop/DevToys.CLI as the startup project.
- Press the Run button to build and launch.
Visual Studio Code:
- Open the repository root folder in VS Code.
- Go to Run and Debug (⇧⌘D), select the DevToys MacOS or DevToys CLI launch configuration, then press Start.
(Optional) Debug the Blazor WebView in Safari
Most of the macOS app renders inside a Safari WebKit WebView. To attach Safari’s Web Inspector to the running BlazorWebView:
- Open desktop Safari and go to Safari → Preferences → Advanced, then enable Show features for web developers.
- Launch
DevToys.MacOS from your IDE.
- In Safari’s menu bar, select Develop → {your device name} → 0.0.0.0. If multiple
0.0.0.0 entries appear, select the one that highlights the BlazorWebView in blue.
- The Web Inspector window will open, connected to the Blazor app running inside DevToys.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure the following are installed on your machine:Setup & Build
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DevToys-app/DevToys.git
Install Nuke.Build CLI tooling
Open a Terminal in the repository root and run:dotnet tool install Nuke.GlobalTool --global
Restore all dependencies
Run the initialization script from the repository root: Open the solution and run
JetBrains Rider:
- Open
src/DevToys-Linux.sln in Rider.
- Set
app/dev/platforms/desktop/DevToys.Linux or app/dev/platforms/desktop/DevToys.CLI as the startup project.
- Press the Run button to build and launch.
Visual Studio Code:
- Open the repository root folder in VS Code.
- Go to Run and Debug, select the DevToys Linux or DevToys CLI launch configuration, then press Start.
