A cross-platform Electron application that provides a guided installation wizard for DashCaddy - the unified management platform for Docker containers and Caddy reverse proxy.

✨ Features

🎯 Guided 5-Step Wizard - Simple, intuitive installation process
🔍 Automatic Dependency Detection - Checks for Docker and Caddy
📦 One-Click Dependency Installation - Installs missing requirements
🖥️ Cross-Platform Support - Windows, macOS, and Linux
📁 Smart File Deployment - Copies and configures all necessary files
⚙️ Auto-Configuration - Generates Caddyfile and docker-compose.yml
🚀 Service Management - Starts services and opens dashboard
💾 Configuration Persistence - Saves settings for upgrades
🎨 Modern UI - Clean, responsive interface with progress tracking

🚀 Quick Start

For End Users

Download the installer for your platform
Run the executable (portable, no installation needed)
Follow the wizard steps
Access your dashboard at http://localhost:8080

See QUICK_START.md for detailed user instructions.

For Developers

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode with DevTools
npm run dev

# Build for Windows
npm run build:win

See BUILD_GUIDE.md for comprehensive build instructions.

📋 System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 10/11, macOS 10.15+, or Linux
RAM: 4GB minimum, 8GB recommended
Disk Space: 2GB free space
Dependencies: Docker and Caddy (installer can install these)

🏗️ Project Structure

dashcaddy-installer/
├── src/
│   ├── main/                      # Electron main process
│   │   ├── index.js              # Main entry & IPC handlers
│   │   ├── dependency-checker.js # Docker/Caddy detection
│   │   ├── config-manager.js     # Configuration management
│   │   ├── file-deployer.js      # File copying & deployment
│   │   ├── caddyfile-generator.js # Config generation
│   │   ├── browser-launcher.js   # Browser integration
│   │   └── service-manager.js    # Service control
│   ├── renderer/                  # UI layer
│   │   ├── index.html            # Main HTML
│   │   ├── wizard.js             # Wizard logic
│   │   └── styles.css            # Styling
│   ├── preload/                   # IPC bridge
│   │   └── index.js              # Secure IPC exposure
│   └── shared/                    # Shared utilities
│       ├── constants.js          # App constants
│       └── platform-utils.js     # Platform detection
├── templates/                     # Configuration templates
│   ├── Caddyfile.template        # Caddyfile template
│   ├── docker-compose.template.yml
│   └── README.md
├── assets/                        # Images & icons
│   ├── icon.png                  # App icon
│   └── dashcaddy-logo.png
├── dist/                          # Build output (generated)
├── BUILD_GUIDE.md                 # Comprehensive build guide
├── QUICK_START.md                 # User quick start guide
└── package.json                   # Dependencies & config

🛠️ Development

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd dashcaddy-installer

# Install dependencies
npm install

Running

# Development mode with DevTools
npm run dev

# Production mode
npm start

Testing

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

# Run property-based tests
npm test -- --testNamePattern="property"

Building

# Build for current platform
npm run build

# Build for specific platforms
npm run build:win    # Windows
npm run build:mac    # macOS
npm run build:linux  # Linux

Build Output:

Windows: dist/win-unpacked/DashCaddy Installer.exe (168MB portable)
macOS: dist/DashCaddy Installer.dmg
Linux: dist/DashCaddy Installer.AppImage

📖 Documentation

BUILD_GUIDE.md - Complete build and development guide
QUICK_START.md - User installation guide
templates/README.md - Template documentation

🎯 Installation Wizard Steps

1. Welcome

Introduction to DashCaddy
Platform detection
Feature overview

2. Choose Folders

Select installation directory
Configure Docker data path
Set Caddy config location

3. Check Dependencies

Detect Docker installation
Detect Caddy installation
Install missing dependencies

4. Installation

Deploy dashboard files
Deploy API server
Install npm dependencies
Generate configurations
Start services

5. Complete

Installation summary
Dashboard URL
Quick access button

🔧 Configuration

Source Directories

The installer copies files from:

Dashboard: ../status/ → {install}/dashboard/
API Server: ../dashcaddy-api/ → {install}/api/

Generated Files

The installer creates:

Caddyfile - Reverse proxy configuration
docker-compose.yml - Container orchestration
.dashcaddy-config.json - Installation settings

Default Ports

Dashboard: 8080
API Server: 3001
Caddy Admin: 2019

🐛 Troubleshooting

Build Issues

Ensure Node.js 18+ is installed
Delete node_modules and run npm install
Check that source directories exist

Runtime Issues

Run with npm run dev to see console errors
Check that Docker daemon is running
Verify Caddy is installed and accessible
Ensure ports 8080, 3001, 2021 are available

Deployment Issues

Verify source paths in file-deployer.js
Check write permissions on installation directory
Ensure sufficient disk space

🤝 Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes
Add tests if applicable
Submit a pull request

📝 License

MIT

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with:

Electron - Cross-platform desktop apps
electron-builder - Build and packaging
Jest - Testing framework
fast-check - Property-based testing