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VEXiLDev Docs | VEXiL
Pre-MVP (v0.1.X) — Expect breaking changes, including complete restructuring based on feasibility. Version stays at 0.1.X until a working MVP is up.

Getting Started

This guide gets you from a fresh clone to running the monorepo locally.

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
Tool Notes
Bun Package manager / workspace runner (packageManager pins Bun 1.3.x)
Turborepo Task runner used by bun run dev → turbo run dev (installed via root devDependencies)
Go 1.26.x Backend API (apps/vexil-server)
uv + Python 3.13 Houdini plugin + apps/vexil-dev-tools/env-init
SideFX Houdini 22 Required for the Houdini plugin and DCC-centric workflows
Docker (optional) Compose workflow

Why Bun?

Section titled “Why Bun?”

VEXiL prefers Bun over npm, Yarn, and pnpm for speed and simple monorepo / workspace ergonomics. That is a preference, not a hard requirement — you are free to use other workspace-aware package managers such as pnpm. Docs, CI, and packageManager examples stay Bun-oriented, so adapt commands if you choose something else.

Section titled “Recommended editors”
  • Zed — recommended general editor for the monorepo
  • GoLand — recommended for Go work in apps/vexil-server

Either works for the full repo; GoLand is the stronger fit when focusing on the API.

Optional: Devcontainer

Section titled “Optional: Devcontainer”

Config lives under .devcontainer/ at the repository root. If your editor supports Dev Containers, reopen the repo in the container; post-create runs bun install and bun run setup. Otherwise use manual setup with Zed or GoLand.

Manual setup

Section titled “Manual setup”

From the repository root:

Terminal window
bun install
bun run setup

bun run setup syncs Python envs (uv sync for the Houdini package and env-init TUI) and downloads Go modules for the backend.

Optional env / Docker helper TUI:

Terminal window
uv run --directory apps/vexil-dev-tools/env-init main.py

Run the monorepo

Section titled “Run the monorepo”
Terminal window
bun run dev

This uses Turborepo (turbo run dev) to start workspace dev scripts (backend API, frontend app, website for VEXiL). See Local services & ports for URLs.

Run a single app when you only need one surface (pick one):

Terminal window
cd apps/vexil-server && bun run dev
Terminal window
cd apps/vexil-frontend && bun run dev
Terminal window
cd apps/vexil-website && bun run dev

Docker Compose

Section titled “Docker Compose”
Terminal window
docker compose up --build -d

Compose maps host port ranges for services so local conflicts are less likely. Tear down with docker compose down.

These docs

Section titled “These docs”

apps/docs-dev is a Bun workspace package. Root bun run dev starts it via Turborepo (port 4323). To run only the docs:

Terminal window
cd apps/docs-dev
bun run dev

Production host: https://dev-docs.vexil.tools.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”