Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/GKExpo/ServerPilot/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

ServerPilot is a standard Electron + React application with a Vite build pipeline. The entire source is available on GitHub and can be compiled to distributable Windows executables in a few commands. This page walks through the prerequisites, the development workflow, and producing release builds.

​
Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18 or newer — download from nodejs.org
  • Git — download from git-scm.com
  • Windows 10 or 11 — Electron Builder’s .exe targets require a Windows host
Electron Builder can produce .exe output on Linux or macOS only when Wine is installed, and native module compilation may still fail. A Windows host is strongly recommended for release builds.

​
Tech Stack

LayerTechnology
Desktop shellElectron 42
UI frameworkReact 18 with Vite 6
StylingTailwind CSS 3 (PostCSS via postcss.config.cjs)
Code editorMonaco Editor (@monaco-editor/react)
ChartsRecharts
Process metricspidusage
Persistenceelectron-store
PackagingElectron Builder 26

​
Build Steps

1

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/GKExpo/ServerPilot.git
cd ServerPilot
2

Install dependencies

npm install
This installs both runtime dependencies (React, Electron, archiver, etc.) and dev dependencies (Vite, Tailwind, Electron Builder, concurrently).
3

Start the development app

npm run dev
This command runs two processes in parallel via concurrently:
  1. Vite dev server — starts at http://127.0.0.1:5173 and serves the React renderer with hot module replacement.
  2. Electron — waits for the Vite server to be ready (via wait-on), then launches with VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL=http://127.0.0.1:5173 set so electron/main.js loads the dev server instead of the built renderer.
The app window opens automatically. Changes to files in src/ hot-reload instantly. Changes to files in electron/ require stopping the process (Ctrl+C) and running npm run dev again.
4

Build the renderer only

npm run build
Runs vite build and outputs the compiled React app to dist-renderer/. This is the static bundle that the packaged Electron app loads via mainWindow.loadFile(...). You do not need to run this step separately before npm run dist — the dist script does it automatically.
5

Compile release builds

npm run dist
Runs npm run build (renderer) then electron-builder --win nsis portable. Electron Builder bundles the renderer output, the electron/ main process files, backend/, assets/, and storage/ into an ASAR archive and produces two Windows executables:
dist/
  ServerPilot v2.0.0-Setup.exe      (NSIS installer — per-user, no admin required)
  ServerPilot v2.0.0-Portable.exe   (portable single EXE)
Both targets compile for x64 architecture as defined in electron-builder.json.

​
Build Output

dist/
  ServerPilot v2.0.0-Setup.exe     (NSIS installer)
  ServerPilot v2.0.0-Portable.exe  (portable single EXE)
The NSIS installer runs per-user (perMachine: false) and does not require UAC elevation. It creates a desktop shortcut and a Start Menu entry under ServerPilot V2. The user can choose a custom installation directory during setup. The portable build is a single self-contained .exe — no installation required. Place it anywhere and run it.

​
Project Structure

ServerPilot/
  electron/
    main.js             # Electron main process entry point
    preload.js          # IPC bridge (contextBridge / validChannels)
    ipc/
      serverManager.js  # Server lifecycle, metrics, Playit integration
      fileManager.js    # File & properties operations
      backupManager.js  # ZIP backup creation and restore
      storage.js        # electron-store persistence, dialog handlers
  src/
    main.jsx            # React entry point (ReactDOM.createRoot)
    App.jsx             # Root component and client-side routing
    pages/              # Dashboard, Console, Players, Files, Properties, Backups, Settings
    components/         # Shared UI components (buttons, modals, cards, etc.)
    services/api.js     # Thin wrapper around window.serverPilot.invoke / .on
    hooks/              # useInterval, useIpcEvent, and other custom hooks
    utils/format.js     # formatUptime, formatBytes, and other helpers
  backend/
    defaults.js         # Default Settings and Server config objects
    minecraftLogParser.js  # Regex-based Minecraft log event parser
  assets/
    icon.ico            # App icon (used by Electron and the installer)
  storage/              # Default JSON store template files
  electron-builder.json # Packaging configuration
  vite.config.cjs       # Vite configuration (React plugin, output to dist-renderer/)
  postcss.config.cjs    # PostCSS configuration for Tailwind
  package.json          # Scripts, dependencies, and Electron entry point

​
Development Workflow Notes

Hot reload scope: Vite’s HMR covers everything under src/. Editing a React component, a hook, or a utility file updates the running window instantly without losing server state. Editing anything under electron/ (main process, preload, IPC handlers) requires a full restart of npm run dev because the main process is not managed by Vite. Environment variable handoff: VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL is set by the dev script via cross-env. The main process checks for this variable at startup: 
// electron/main.js
if (process.env.VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL) {
  mainWindow.loadURL(process.env.VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL);
} else {
  mainWindow.loadFile(path.join(__dirname, '..', 'dist-renderer', 'index.html'));
}
In production builds this variable is not set, so Electron loads the compiled renderer from dist-renderer/index.html. Tailwind compilation: Tailwind CSS classes are processed by Vite’s PostCSS pipeline on every build and during HMR. No separate Tailwind CLI step is required — postcss.config.cjs is picked up automatically by Vite. App data location: During development, electron-store writes to the standard Electron userData path — %APPDATA%\serverpilot-v2\ on Windows. The store file is named serverpilot-v2.json. This is the same location used by production builds, so development data and release data coexist in the same store. Clear this file if you need a fresh state. Devtools: The Electron DevTools can be opened in development with Ctrl+Shift+I (if enabled in main.js). The main process can be debugged by launching Node.js with the --inspect flag, but the npm run dev script does not add it by default — add --inspect to the Electron command in package.json if needed.
To test the packaged app without publishing a release, run npm run dist and launch the resulting ServerPilot v2.0.0-Portable.exe from the dist/ folder. This exercises the ASAR bundle and the production renderer path end-to-end.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us