Installation & running

PiVo Craft is a Vite application. Everything runs locally in your browser — no account, no project upload, no runtime CDN.

Requirements

• Node.js 20.19+ or 22.12+ (release tested with Node 24.14.1)
• npm (or pnpm, see packageManager)

Run the dev server

npm ci
npm run dev

Open the local URL printed by Vite. All editing stays in your browser.

Production build

npm run build        # typecheck (tsc --noEmit) + production app in dist/

Release packages also provide an offline-capable dist/standalone.html. The separate package-release.py release-packaging script generates it from a production build and existing verification artifacts; npm run build does not generate that file. File downloads work without a backend. Download or open the supplied standalone file in a desktop browser for full-size use.

Standalone & embedded contexts

Browser file origins or embedded previews may restrict IndexedDB, so automatic recovery can be unreliable there. Use normal hosted/localhost operation for dependable recovery.

Run the test suite

npm test             # headless core/codec tests
npm run test:coverage

Browser smoke checks run against a dev server on port 5173:

npx playwright install chromium
node scripts/browser/browser-smoke.mjs        # core editing flows
node scripts/browser/browser-m4.mjs           # advanced controls, simulated pen input, persistence
node scripts/browser/browser-refinements.mjs  # pattern phase, gradient colors, pixel-vote undo
node scripts/browser/browser-codecs.mjs       # indexed/Adam7 PNG, GIF loops, legacy tilemap imports
node scripts/browser/browser-workspace.mjs    # tabs, recovery slots, docks, shortcut remapping

Each script writes *-results.json evidence to scripts/browser/results/ (further scripts cover density, font, icons, scrollbars, theme and typography). See Verification for the full picture.

Next steps

• Build your first project with the Beginner tutorials, including screenshots and downloadable checkpoints.
• Follow the User guide for a walkthrough of the workspace.
• Read File formats to understand .pvc, PNG, GIF and ASE support.
• Drive the document model directly with the Headless API.

Release validation and updates

Production browser checks use npm run test:release against the built app at its deployment subpath. Unit tests are manually authorized. See production readiness for current evidence and limitations. Updates show a prompt and require recovery to be stored before reload. Download native project backups regularly; browser site data can be cleared by the browser or user.