@frontman-ai/vite

Vite integration for Frontman - provides AI-powered development tools for any Vite-based application (React, Vue, Svelte, SolidJS, vanilla, etc.).

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

The fastest way to install Frontman is using our CLI installer:

npx @frontman-ai/vite install

# Or with a custom server host
npx @frontman-ai/vite install --server frontman.company.com

The installer will:

• Detect your Vite project and package manager
• Install @frontman-ai/vite as a dev dependency
• Add frontmanPlugin({ host: '...' }) to your vite.config.ts plugins array (or create one)

CLI Options

npx @frontman-ai/vite install [options]

Options:
  --server <host>   Frontman server host (default: api.frontman.sh)
  --prefix <path>   Target directory (default: current directory)
  --dry-run         Preview changes without writing files
  --skip-deps       Skip dependency installation
  --help            Show help message

Manual Installation

If you prefer to set things up manually:

npm install -D @frontman-ai/vite

Then add the plugin to your vite.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from 'vite';
import { frontmanPlugin } from '@frontman-ai/vite';

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    frontmanPlugin({ host: 'api.frontman.sh' }),
    // ...your other plugins
  ],
});

Quick Start

After running the installer, start your Vite dev server:

npm run dev

Then open your browser to http://localhost:5173/frontman to access the Frontman UI.

With the default hosted setup, Frontman redirects you to api.frontman.sh to sign in with GitHub or Google, then returns you to the local /frontman URL. Before your first prompt, connect a supported AI provider with OAuth or add an API key. If you configured another Frontman server, sign in on that server instead.

Configuration Options

frontmanPlugin({
  host: 'api.frontman.sh',         // Frontman server host (default: env FRONTMAN_HOST or "frontman.local:4000")
  basePath: 'frontman',            // Base path for Frontman routes (default: "frontman")
  isDev: false,                    // Dev mode (default: inferred from host — true unless host is "api.frontman.sh")
  projectRoot: '.',                // Project root directory (default: env PROJECT_ROOT or cwd)
  sourceRoot: '.',                 // Source root for resolving file paths (default: projectRoot)
  clientUrl: 'https://...',        // Custom client bundle URL (default: inferred from isDev)
  clientCssUrl: 'https://...',     // Custom client CSS URL (default: inferred from isDev)
  entrypointUrl: 'http://...',     // Custom entrypoint URL for the API
});

Understanding the host Option

The host option specifies the Frontman server that the client UI will connect to for AI capabilities. When you visit /frontman in your Vite app:

1. The plugin serves the Frontman UI HTML
2. The UI loads the client JavaScript with ?host=<your-host>
3. The client establishes a WebSocket connection to wss://<host>/socket
4. AI interactions and tool calls flow through this connection

The plugin itself doesn't connect to the Frontman server - it only passes the host to the client.

Examples:

• Production: host: 'api.frontman.sh' → client connects to wss://api.frontman.sh/socket
• Local dev: host: 'frontman.local:4000' → client connects to wss://frontman.local:4000/socket

api.frontman.sh is the only production server. Any other host value is treated as dev mode, which changes the default clientUrl to load from a local dev server instead of the production CDN.

Supported Frameworks

This plugin works with any Vite-based project:

• React (via @vitejs/plugin-react)
• Vue (via @vitejs/plugin-vue)
• Svelte (via @sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte)
• SolidJS (via vite-plugin-solid)
• Vanilla JS/TS
• Any other Vite-compatible framework

Architecture

Vite Dev Server
│
├─> configureServer hook
│   └─> frontmanPlugin registers Connect middleware
│       └─> Adapts Node.js req/res ↔ Web API Request/Response
│
├─> GET /frontman
│   └─> Serves Frontman UI (HTML + client bundle + CSS)
│
├─> GET /frontman/tools
│   └─> Returns tool definitions (file read, write, search, etc.)
│
├─> POST /frontman/tools/call
│   └─> Executes tool → returns SSE stream with results
│
├─> POST /frontman/resolve-source-location
│   └─> Resolves source maps to original component locations
│
└─> OPTIONS /frontman/*
    └─> CORS preflight handling

Non-frontman routes pass through to Vite's normal dev server handling.

Key Technical Details

Node.js ↔ Web API Adapter

• Vite's dev server uses Node.js IncomingMessage/ServerResponse
• Frontman middleware uses Web API Request/Response
• The plugin adapts between the two, including SSE stream piping

Troubleshooting

Frontman UI not loading

Check 1: Verify the plugin is registered Make sure frontmanPlugin() is in your vite.config.ts plugins array and your dev server is running.

Check 2: Check the URL The default path is http://localhost:5173/frontman. If you changed the basePath option, use that path instead. If Vite is running on a different port, use that port in the URL.

Installer shows "manual modification required"

This happens when the installer can't find a plugins: [ array in your Vite config to inject into. Manually add the import and plugin call as shown in Manual Installation.

CORS errors in browser console

The plugin includes CORS headers for all /frontman/* routes. If you're seeing CORS errors, verify the request is going to the correct Vite dev server URL.

License

Apache-2.0