Features

This page is a reference for what the current Frontron starter and support package already give you.

If this is your first visit, start with the quick-start pages first. This page works better when you want to answer, “What do I already get by default?”

Good pages to read first

TIP

For first-time users, this order is easier:

1. Quick Start
2. Create a Project / Run in Development
3. Change App Name and Icon
4. Come back here for the feature overview

1. Starter generation

Frontron starts new projects through create-frontron.

It:

• creates a new project folder
• copies the official starter shape
• seeds frontron.config.ts and frontron/
• wires app:dev and app:build

This means you do not need to write Electron main, preload, or packaging files yourself on day one.

2. Official starter structure

The default starter is React-based and centered on the starter/template path.

src/
  components/
frontron.config.ts
frontron/
public/
package.json

This keeps the web app and desktop-side config easy to separate.

3. Desktop support from frontron

frontron provides the desktop support layer behind the starter:

• CLI commands
• primary window creation
• configured secondary window management
• preload bridge exposure
• window state reading and window controls
• desktop launch in development and staged files for build
• packaging flow

4. Development flow

npm run app:dev is the main development command.

It runs:

• the configured web dev command
• the Electron desktop app through Frontron support

It also generates .frontron/types/frontron-client.d.ts for bridge autocomplete.

5. UI and styling

The default starter includes:

• Tailwind CSS 4
• a small starter UI
• a custom title bar example

The starter stays intentionally smaller than the old heavy component dump.

6. Build and packaging

npm run app:build runs this flow:

1. renderer build
2. .frontron/ runtime and build staging
3. packaged desktop output

On Windows, the default setup writes packaged output under output/.

7. Rust slot

The official Rust extension path is frontron/rust/.

• If rust.enabled is true, Frontron builds and loads the Rust artifact.
• bridge.native.getStatus() reports native runtime status.
• bridge.native.isReady() reports the built-in readiness symbol.
• The starter includes bridge.system.cpuCount() as a config-driven Rust example.

8. How to use this page

Come back here when you want to confirm:

• which features are already built in
• what the starter includes
• what frontron still owns behind the starter