Local development

Part	Platform
Backend	Windows
EuroScope plugin	Windows x86 (Win32) — MSVC
Frontend	Windows, Linux & Mac
Docs	Windows, Linux & Mac

Host requirements

Requirement	Used for	Notes
Docker Desktop	Backend	Compose for Postgres, migrator, optional full API image
Go	Backend	Version per backend/go.mod
Node.js 22.x	Frontend, docs	Version locked in frontend/package.json engines
Visual Studio 2022 or Build Tools (C++ workload)	EuroScope plugin	Must use an x86 Native Tools MSVC prompt — x64 produces the wrong architecture
CMake ≥ 3.15	EuroScope plugin
Ninja	EuroScope plugin	Matches CI

Backend

From backend/, bring up the full stack (API on 8090, Postgres, migrator):

docker compose --profile all up --build -d

To run the Go binary on the host instead, start only Postgres then:

docker compose --profile database up --build -d
go run ./cmd/server

Set DATABASE_CONNECTIONSTRING to localhost:5432 (see backend/.env).

Frontend

From frontend/:

npm ci
npm run dev

Default wsUrl in public/config.js is ws://localhost:8090/frontEndEvents.

EuroScope plugin

From euroscope-plugin/ in an x86 MSVC environment:

cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON -G Ninja -B build
cmake --build build

Swap Debug for Release to mirror .github/workflows/build-plugin.yml.

To install:

1. Copy build/bin/FlightStripsPlugin.dll and build/bin/flightstrips_config.ini into your EuroScope Plugins folder (%AppData%\EuroScope\<ICAO>\Plugins\).
2. Keep any EuroScope dependency DLLs beside the plugin.
3. Load the DLL from EuroScope’s plugin dialog.

flightstrips_config.ini for local development

Note

Debug builds automatically deploy src/config_dev.ini as flightstrips_config.ini — skip this unless you are patching a Release build or an existing install.

The values that differ from production:

[authentication]
audience = backend-dev
clientId = oPIlNgkBODM1OEFTrcKOZl9JavEives3

[api]
baseurl = ws://localhost:8090/euroscopeEvents

[logging]
level = DEBUG

All other keys (authority, redirectPorts, enabled) stay the same as production. Full reference: src/config_dev.ini (dev), src/config.ini (prod).

userconfig.ini holds personal tokens and is gitignored — do not commit it.

Docs

From docs/:

npm ci
npm run dev

Dev server runs at localhost:4321 by default.

Wiring checks

With the backend on 8090: the frontend shows live strips once auth and WebSockets succeed; the plugin negotiates the euroscopeEvents WebSocket independently of the frontend origin.

Local SAT test console

The protected /test page can create and advance synthetic stand-assignment scenarios without contacting the VATSIM data feed. Start the backend from backend/ with:

$env:ENABLE_STAND_ASSIGNMENT = "true"
$env:ENABLE_TEST_TOOLS = "true"
go run ./cmd/server

When test tools are enabled, the backend uses its committed small aircraft fixture unless GRPLUGIN_ICAO_AIRCRAFT_JSON explicitly points to a full installed reference. The production VATSIM HTTP cache is replaced by an in-memory source, and the VATSIM transceiver cache is disabled, so no VATSIM network data is requested.

Sign in normally, connect the local EuroScope plugin to create an EKCH session, then open http://localhost:8080/test. Select the session and use a departure, arrival, or wrong-stand preset. Next drives the real reconciliation and SAT lifecycle; manual time, position, block, remove, and reset controls are also available.

ENABLE_TEST_TOOLS defaults to false. The backend refuses to start when it is true in a live, prod, or production environment, and /api/test/* is not registered while it is false.