Desktop

Overview

Gatsby Desktop is an innovative proof-of-concept application designed to streamline the management of Gatsby sites from your desktop environment. Built on Electron, it effectively combines a familiar UI with powerful backend functionalities, allowing developers to easily launch, manage, and monitor their local Gatsby projects. While it’s important to note that Gatsby Desktop is no longer being maintained, it still offers a unique approach to local site management for those looking to experiment or integrate with their existing workflows.

The app is built with TypeScript and provides a seamless experience to developers using Gatsby, enhancing productivity through features such as hot reloading and automatic site discovery. Even though it’s a discontinued tool, Gatsby Desktop exhibits an interesting architecture and workflow that can inspire future development in local site management applications.

Features

• Electron Framework: Gatsby Desktop leverages Electron to create a native desktop experience, combining HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with Node.js capabilities.
• Running Multiple Sites: The app can launch and manage local Gatsby sites, providing a list of running sites accessible via React context.
• Auto-Discovery of Sites: Gatsby Desktop automatically discovers local Gatsby sites and watches them for changes, streamlining the workflow.
• Hot Reloading: With the use of gatsby develop, developers benefit from hot reloading, enabling real-time updates during local development.
• TypeScript Support: The application is crafted using TypeScript, promoting robust code quality and development practices.
• Telemetry Options: Users can opt-in to provide anonymous usage data to help prioritize future features and improvements, ensuring a user-focused development process.
• Development Tools: Includes built-in support for Chrome DevTools for debugging, enhancing the development experience and making troubleshooting efficient.