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start-frontend.sh

Starts only the Flutter frontend app in development mode.

Purpose​

Lightweight script to start the frontend independently without the backend.

Location​

Must be run from the scripts/ directory:

cd scripts
./start-frontend.sh

What It Does​

  1. Detects platform - Auto-detects Linux, macOS, or Windows
  2. Starts Flutter - Runs flutter run -d <platform>

Prerequisites​

  • Frontend setup completed (./setup-frontend.sh)
  • Backend running (optional, but app functionality requires it)

Output​

Starting AI content reporpuser Frontend...
Starting on platform: linux

Launching lib/main.dart on Linux in debug mode...
Building Linux application...

The app window will open and display the Flutter app.

Press q in the terminal or close the window to stop.

Platform Selection​

Auto-detection​

The script detects your OS:

  • Linux → flutter run -d linux
  • macOS → flutter run -d macos
  • Windows → flutter run -d windows

Manual Override​

Pass a platform argument:

./start-frontend.sh macos
./start-frontend.sh windows
./start-frontend.sh linux

Available platforms:

  • linux
  • macos
  • windows
  • chrome (web)
  • Device ID for mobile (e.g., emulator-5554)

Backend Connection​

The app defaults to connecting to http://localhost:3000.

If your backend runs on a different port or host:

  1. Start the app
  2. Go to Settings
  3. Update API URL
  4. Click Test Connection

Troubleshooting​

Flutter not found​

export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/flutter/bin"

Platform not enabled​

cd frontend
flutter config --enable-linux-desktop  # or macos, windows

Backend not responding​

Make sure backend is running:

cd scripts
./start-backend.sh

Test backend health:

curl http://localhost:3000/health

Build errors​

cd frontend
flutter clean
flutter pub get
flutter run -d linux

When to Use​

Use this script when:

  • Testing frontend UI independently
  • Developing frontend without backend changes
  • Using a remote backend
  • Debugging frontend issues

For full development with backend, use ./start-dev.sh instead.

Hot Reload​

While running in debug mode:

  • Press r - Hot reload (preserves state)
  • Press R - Hot restart (resets state)
  • Press q - Quit

Source Code​

Located at: scripts/start-frontend.sh

Key features:

  • Platform auto-detection
  • Manual platform override
  • Simple Flutter run wrapper