Add to Desktop

Turn any project into a standalone desktop app.

Overview

Projects with a .blueberry/startup.json can be launched as standalone desktop apps, with no IDE chrome. The app opens directly to your preview URL after running setup and starting all processes in the background.

This is useful for running your project like a native app: click the icon, wait a moment, and your app appears.

Creating a Desktop App

Open the Command Bar (Cmd+P) or use the dropdown next to the Run button in the header and choose Add to Desktop.

In the dialog:

1. App name: the name that appears under the desktop icon. Defaults to the project folder name or the name field from your startup.json.
2. Icon: choose your project’s favicon (if one is detected in common locations like public/favicon.ico, public/favicon.png, etc.) or pick an emoji from the grid.

Click Add to Desktop and a launcher is created on your Desktop.

How It Works

When you open the desktop app:

1. A startup screen appears with your project name and icon.
2. Setup commands from startup.json run (installing dependencies, migrations, etc.).
3. All processes start in parallel.
4. Once the preview process is ready, the app window navigates to your preview URL.

The app window is standalone, with just your web content and a draggable title bar. No editor, no terminal, no sidebar.

Sharing with Your Team

Since .blueberry/startup.json is a regular file in your repository, anyone who clones the project gets the same Run button and Add to Desktop option. This makes it easy to onboard new team members: clone the repo, click Run, and the project sets itself up.