Creating a Project

The easiest way to set up a new Launchpad project (or add Launchpad to an existing one) is with the create-launchpad project generator.

Quick Start

npm create @bluecadet/launchpad

This command will:

1. Ask which directory to set up Launchpad in (defaults to the current directory)
2. Ask which plugins you need (content, monitor, or both)
3. Ask which content sources and transforms to configure
4. Generate or update the necessary files

Then install the dependencies it added:

npm install

What Gets Generated

launchpad.config.ts

The main configuration file. If a launchpad.config.ts already exists it will not be overwritten — the tool skips it and you can update it manually.

package.json

If no package.json exists, one is created with the appropriate dependencies and scripts.

If one already exists, the tool merges into it:

• Adds any missing dependencies (without changing existing version pins)
• Adds content, start, and stop scripts (without overwriting scripts you already have)

tsconfig.json

If no tsconfig.json exists, a minimal ESM-compatible one is generated:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "NodeNext",
    "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true
  }
}

If one already exists, the tool validates it for ESM compatibility and patches any easily-fixable gaps (like a missing esModuleInterop). It will warn you if it finds settings it cannot safely auto-fix (e.g. a "module": "CommonJS" setting that Launchpad is not compatible with).

.gitignore

With your confirmation, the tool adds Launchpad-specific entries (node_modules/, dist/, .launchpad/, .downloads/) to your .gitignore. If entries are already present, they are not duplicated.

Re-running

You can run npm create @bluecadet/launchpad again in the same directory to add more plugins. package.json and tsconfig.json will be merged as described above. The existing launchpad.config.ts will be left untouched — add the new plugins manually.

Manual Setup

Prefer to set things up by hand? See Getting Started for step-by-step installation instructions.