---

name: privateapp description: "Personal PWA dashboard server with plugin apps. Use when: (1) installing or setting up PrivateApp, (2) starting/stopping/restarting the service, (3) building frontends after changes, (4) adding new app plugins, (5) configuring push notifications. Requires Python 3.9+, Node.js 18+. Runs as systemd user service or launchd plist."

PrivateApp

Personal PWA dashboard — FastAPI backend + React/Vite frontend with plugin apps.

Screenshots

Setup

# Clone and install (creates venv, builds frontends, sets up systemd/launchd)
git clone https://github.com/camopel/PrivateApp.git ~/Workspace/PrivateApp
cd ~/Workspace/PrivateApp
bash scripts/install.sh [--port 8800]

Copy scripts/config.example.json → scripts/config.json and edit:

{
  "host": "0.0.0.0",
  "port": 8800,
  "data_dir": "~/.local/share/privateapp",
  "file_browser": { "root": "~" },
  "push": { "vapid_email": "you@example.com" }
}

Service Management

# Linux (systemd user service)
systemctl --user start privateapp
systemctl --user stop privateapp
systemctl --user restart privateapp
systemctl --user status privateapp

# macOS (launchd)
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.privateapp.server.plist
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.privateapp.server.plist

# Manual
.venv/bin/python3 scripts/server.py --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8800

Build Frontends

After any frontend change, rebuild:

# Build shell (home screen)
cd frontend && npm run build

# Build all app frontends
for app_dir in apps/*/frontend; do
  [ -f "$app_dir/package.json" ] && (cd "$app_dir" && npm install && npm run build)
done

# Or use the install script which builds everything
bash scripts/install.sh

Then restart the service.

Built-in Apps

App	Shortcode	Description
📊 System	sysmon	CPU, RAM, disk, GPU stats and service health
📁 Files	files	Browse, preview, and share files

Adding a New App

Create apps/{app-id}/ with:

• app.json — metadata (id, name, shortcode, icon, description)
• backend/routes.py — FastAPI router (mounted at /api/app/{shortcode}/)
• frontend/ — React SPA (Vite, builds to frontend/dist/)

Shortcode must be unique. The app loader auto-discovers on startup.

See the existing apps for reference patterns. Key conventions:

• All routes async def, return plain dicts
• Frontend uses CSS custom properties for dark mode
• Input font-size ≥ 16px (prevents iOS auto-zoom)
• Every app has a back button linking to /

Push Notifications

Apps can send push via commons.push_client:

from commons.push_client import send_push
await send_push(title="Alert", body="Something happened", url="/app/my-app/")

Data

~/.local/share/privateapp/
├── privateapp.db       # Settings, preferences, push subscriptions
├── vapid_private.pem   # VAPID signing key
└── vapid_public.txt    # VAPID public key

Key APIs

• GET /api/apps — list installed apps
• GET /api/settings/preferences — get preferences (timezone, language, app_order)
• POST /api/settings/preferences — save preferences
• POST /api/push/send — send push notification
• GET /api/push/test — test push