create-neutralinojs-vite-app

Scaffold a Neutralinojs + Vite + React app with one command.

Neutralinojs is a lightweight alternative to Electron — no bundled browser engine, uses the OS native WebView. This tool gives you a production-ready starting point with React + Vite, pre-configured HMR, and the Neutralinojs native API wired up and ready to use.

Usage

npx create-neutralinojs-vite-app@latest my-app

Or pass no arguments for interactive mode:

npx create-neutralinojs-vite-app@latest

CLI Options

You can bypass interactive prompts (ideal for CI/CD or headless environments) by passing flags:

• -y, --yes: Skip all interactive prompts entirely and use default values (react-ts template) while automatically overwriting any existing directories.
• -t, --template <name>: Specify the template to use directly (react-js or react-ts).
• -f, --force: Overwrite the target directory if it already exists without asking for confirmation.

Example (TypeScript):

npx create-neutralinojs-vite-app@latest my-app --yes

Example (JavaScript):

npx create-neutralinojs-vite-app@latest my-app --template react-js --force

What you get

• ⚡ Vite 8 — instant HMR, fast builds
• ⚛️ React 19 — with JS or TypeScript 6
• 🖥️ Neutralinojs — pre-configured neutralino.config.json that stays in sync with Vite
• 🔌 Auto Port Resolution (v2.0+) — dynamically finds a free port to avoid conflicts between Vite and Neutralino
• 🎨 Prettier — baked into every template
• 📦 concurrently — npm run dev safely starts Vite and Neutralinojs together on the resolved port

After scaffolding

cd my-app
npm install
npm run neu:update   # downloads Neutralinojs binaries
npm run dev          # starts Vite + Neutralinojs

Templates

| Template | Command | Headless Flag | |----------|---------|---------------| | React + Vite + JavaScript | npx create-neutralinojs-vite-app → No TypeScript | --template react-js | | React + Vite + TypeScript | npx create-neutralinojs-vite-app → Yes TypeScript | --template react-ts |

Why this exists

Setting up Neutralinojs with Vite manually requires configuring neutralino.config.json to point at the Vite dev server, resolving port conflicts, and wiring up @neutralinojs/lib. This tool does all of that for you.

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Neutralinojs CLI (npm i -g @neutralinojs/neu)

License

MIT — Ankit Mohanty