NudgeThis Start a project with NudgeThis
The portable launcher opens a local welcome in your browser. The application is Rust with a TypeScript interface; the templates are separate projects you own. No model is used to diagnose the goal, recommend a stack, generate the maintained files or serve a simple website.
Starting points
- Start from an idea: describe the goal, audience, data needs, accounts, payments and budget preference. The recommendation explains why a starter fits and what still needs work.
- Use a starter: choose a maintained template and record what it should help people do.
- Open a project: select an existing local folder. No clone, Git initialization, agent authentication or package installation is performed by opening it.
HTML/CSS is recommended for a simple website or an undecided initial idea. Astro is recommended for pages and articles. React + TypeScript is recommended for interactive apps or requested accounts, payments or shared information. You can override the recommendation. These answers are requirements for future implementation, not evidence that backend services already exist.
Review and creation
The server holds the reviewed template, answers, destination and file list for ten minutes. The parent folder must be outside existing Git history and local application state. Creation reserves a new directory exclusively; existing files are never replaced. Repeating a successful creation request returns its existing library entry. If creation stops partway through, the entry is marked incomplete and already-created files are preserved for inspection.
The project gets source files, a README, an ignore file and nudgethis.toml with execution
disabled. Its objective, audience, decisions and next steps are saved as a default instruction
in local Project context. No commit, remote repository, hosting service or account is created.
Use Branch & publish to review the first local version when ready.
The library contains up to 64 entries and can own eight open workspaces. Opening an already open entry returns that workspace. Closing it stops the processes it owns. Removing the entry preserves files. Library membership persists across restarts; running sessions do not.
Project preview
Project preview is available in the dashboard and overlay. A simple website uses a Rust server on an available loopback port. It serves bounded public web assets and excludes local state, Git, environment files, non-public file types and symlink targets. This is a development server, not a production host or general-purpose backend.
Astro and Vite previews require npm and Node.js 22.12+. The review displays the folder, command,
actual dev script and whether package downloads occur. Installation runs npm install or
npm ci with --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund. The development script runs explicitly;
implicit pre/post scripts are disabled. No global packages are installed. Projects that rely
on lifecycle scripts may need manual setup. Package and configuration changes invalidate
an outstanding command review.
Start, Stop and Restart supervise owned process groups (Job Objects on Windows), including
children. Astro background mode is disabled so its server stays attached to the owned process. A running HTTP preview is required before the UI says it is ready. Installation and
startup show progress states; failure keeps files and offers a new review. The global
NUDGETHIS_DISABLE_EXECUTION=1 switch prevents external preview commands as well as agents.
The per-project execution setting and --no-execution disable agent execution independently.
The maintained templates load their optional overlay only during local development. The preview link passes the local token in a fragment; the bridge removes it from the address and keeps it in that tab's session storage. No token is written into the project or served HTML. React/Astro production builds exclude the bridge. The static server injects it only while serving the page; the source HTML remains clean.
Current boundaries
The welcome is a portable browser-based interface, not a signed desktop installer. Agent setup still needs local configuration and a deliberate terminal launch. GitHub publishing requires a repository selected by the user; remote repository creation is not automatic. Built-in preview management is limited to the maintained website starter and npm Astro/Vite projects. Other stacks continue using their own servers. See installation for requirements, updates and operating-system prompts.