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https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn

Free and open source no-code application builder
https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn

no-code nocode

Last synced: 2 days ago
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Free and open source no-code application builder

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README 

        
[![Saltcorn Banner](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/66894759/159173453-2ca63e71-1ff5-4f1e-b551-58b157b0de52.png)](https://saltcorn.com)



[![Build and Test](https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn/workflows/Node.js%20CI/badge.svg)](https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn/actions/workflows/nodejs.yml) [![OpenCollective](https://img.shields.io/badge/OpenCollective-1F87FF?style=flat&logo=OpenCollective&logoColor=black)](https://opencollective.com/saltcorn)



# Saltcorn



Saltcorn is an extensible open source no-code database application builder. Use it to build web and mobile database applications with flexible views, datatypes, layouts and actions



This repository contains the core codebase, including the code necessary to self-host an instance and to host a multitenant instance.



## Acknowledgements



Saltcorn is using [PostgreSQL](https://github.com/postgres/postgres), [node.js](https://github.com/nodejs/node), [node-postgres](https://node-postgres.com/), [express](https://github.com/expressjs/express), [live-plugin-manager](https://www.npmjs.com/package/live-plugin-manager), [craft.js](https://craft.js.org/), [jQuery-Menu-Editor](https://github.com/davicotico/jQuery-Menu-Editor), [Blockly](https://developers.google.com/blockly), [CodeMirror](https://codemirror.net/) and other awesome free and open source projects.



## Trying out Saltcorn



#### Online



A multitenant instance of Saltcorn is running at [saltcorn.com](https://saltcorn.com), and you can create a new application under a subdomain at [https://saltcorn.com/tenant/create](https://saltcorn.com/tenant/create).

This service is free but there are no guarantees about the security or availability of your application or the information you are storing. This service should only be used to explore the capabilities of Saltcorn.



#### Desktop



To try out Saltcorn on your desktop, make sure you have node.js 16+ (18+ preferred) and npm installed. Then run these commands on the command line:



```

npm config set prefix ~/.local

npm install -g @saltcorn/cli

export SQLITE_FILEPATH=~/saltcorn.sqlite

.local/bin/saltcorn reset-schema -f

.local/bin/saltcorn serve

```



Now open http://localhost:3000/ in your browser. When you want to run this again, you need to run the `export` line and the `saltcorn serve` line. or simply run `SQLITE_FILEPATH=~/saltcorn.sqlite .local/bin/saltcorn serve`.



#### Server



To install Saltcorn on a fresh virtual machine, simply install node.js and run `npx saltcorn-install -y`; see [Quick install server on Linux](#quick-install-server-on-linux). To try out Saltcorn with docker-compose see [Quickstart with Docker](#quickstart-with-docker).



## Hosting options



For self-hosting, a 2 GB virtual private server is sufficient to run Saltcorn unless you expect high traffic volumes. Installation instructions are given below. Saltcorn can also run on a 1GB virtual machine, but there can be issues with upgrading.



[DigitalOcean](https://marketplace.digitalocean.com/apps/saltcorn) and [Linode](https://www.linode.com/marketplace/apps/linode/saltcorn/) have one-click install options for Saltcorn



If hosting on DigitalOcean, which offers a 2GB virtual machine for $12 per month, please consider using our [referral code](https://m.do.co/c/a1bcfb757fda) which will give you $100 credit over 60 days.



## Quickstart with Docker



You can run a local instance for quick testing by running the following command:



`cd ./deploy/examples/test && docker-compose up -d`



and then go to http://localhost:3000 in your web browser.



NOTE: The dependencies to build mobile apps are quite large, they are not installed in the standard docker image (saltcorn/saltcorn). To use an image that includes the mobile dependencies as well, either use 'saltcorn/saltcorn-with-mobile' directly or replace 'saltcorn/saltcorn' with 'saltcorn/saltcorn-with-mobile' in the docker-compose file.



## Quick install server on Linux



This has been [tested on Debian 10, 11 and 12, Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04 and 22.04, OpenSuSE, AlmaLinux, and Fedora](https://releases.saltcorn.com/). All you need is to run these

three lines on the command line shell, as root or as a user with sudo access:



```

wget -qO - https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo bash -

sudo apt-get install -qqy nodejs

npx saltcorn-install -y

```



The first two lines will install Node.js 18 (you can also use 20). The last line will call the Saltcorn install script

accepting all the defaults, which installs PostgreSQL and sets up Saltcorn as a service

listening on port 80.



If you want a different port, different database backend, or to not install as a service, you

can omit the final `-y` to get an interactive installation:



```

wget -qO - https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo bash -

sudo apt-get install -qqy nodejs

npx saltcorn-install

```



## Install from NPM packages



Instructions have been tested on Ubuntu 20.04 on a 1GB VM.



TL;DR: `npm install -g @saltcorn/cli && saltcorn setup`



### Installing node and npm



For a recent version (v18) of Node.js:



```

wget -qO - https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -

sudo apt-get install -y nodejs libpq-dev build-essential python-is-python3

```



You can also use Node 18 or 20.



### Install Saltcorn



`npm install -g @saltcorn/cli`



If this fails, you may need to tell npm to disregard file permissions during compilation:



`npm install -g @saltcorn/cli --unsafe`



Sometimes, the above commands fail to install the library `sd-notify` (which is useful for

integrating with systemd) even though it is installable. You can rectify that by installing

it subsequently:



`npm install -g sd-notify`



### Setup (automated)



if you are `root`, create a user with sudo and switch to that user:



```

adduser saltcorn

adduser saltcorn sudo

su saltcorn

cd

mkdir -p ~/.config/

```



then run



`saltcorn setup` and follow the instructions given.



### Setup (manual)



NOTE: this is somewhat out of date; see instead https://wiki.saltcorn.com/view/ShowPage?title=Install%20on%20Ubuntu, in paticular the last section.



Skip this section if you ran `saltcorn setup` or `npx saltcorn-install`



1. Install PostgreSQL: `sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-client`

2. Either,



   - Create a JSON file `.saltcorn` in your XDG config directory (on Ubuntu this is normally \$HOME/.config) with these values:



     - `host`: address of PostgreSQL server

     - `port`: port of PostgreSQL server

     - `database`: PostgreSQL database

     - `user`: PostgreSQL user name

     - `password`: PostgreSQL user password

     - `sslmode`: PostgreSQL [SSL Mode](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq-connect.html#LIBPQ-CONNECT-SSLMODE)

     - `sslcert`: PostgreSQL [SSL Certificate](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq-connect.html#LIBPQ-CONNECT-SSLCERT)

     - `sslkey`: PostgreSQL [SSL Key](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq-connect.html#LIBPQ-CONNECT-SSLKEY)

     - `sslrootcert`: PostgreSQL [SSL Root Certificate](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq-connect.html#LIBPQ-CONNECT-SSLROOTCERT)

     - `session_secret`: Saltcorn session secret

     - `multi_tenant`: run as multi-tenant (true/false)



     For example:



     ```

     {

        "host":"localhost",

        "port":5432,

        "database":"saltcorn",

        "user":"tomn",

        "password":"dgg2342vfB",

        "session_secret":"hrh64b45b3",

        "multi_tenant":true

     }

     ```



     Or,



   - Set environment variables. `SALTCORN_SESSION_SECRET`, `SALTCORN_MULTI_TENANT` (defaults to `false`), and either `DATABASE_URL` or `PGHOST`, `PGPORT`, `PGUSER`, `PGDATABASE`, `PGPASSWORD`. You can also set `PGSSLMODE`, `PGSSLCERT`, `PGSSLKEY`, `PGSSLROOTCERT` (see [Postgres Documentation](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq-envars.html))



### Run



`saltcorn serve`



### Server install



#### Install Saltcorn as a service



Installing saltcorn as a service will mean it runs in the background and restarts automatically if the system reboots.



create a file `/lib/systemd/system/saltcorn.service` with these contents:



```

[Unit]

Description=saltcorn

Documentation=https://saltcorn.com

After=network.target



[Service]

Type=notify

WatchdogSec=5

User=saltcorn

WorkingDirectory=/home/saltcorn

ExecStart=/home/saltcorn/.local/bin/saltcorn serve -p 80

Restart=always

Environment="NODE_ENV=production"



[Install]

WantedBy=multi-user.target

```



run:



```

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

sudo systemctl start saltcorn

sudo systemctl enable saltcorn

```



This may be in a different location in non-Debian systems, e.g. in `/etc/systemd/system` instead.



In order to allow the `saltcorn` user to open port 80, you need to permission node.js to allow

this by running:



```

sudo setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' `which node`

```



#### SSL certificate



Use [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/) or [Cloudflare](https://www.cloudflare.com/ssl/) to get a free SSL certificate (for https).



## Install from source (for Saltcorn developers)



### Installing node and npm on Ubuntu



`sudo apt install nodejs npm libpq-dev`



will give you a usable version. For a more recent version (v18) of Node.js:



```

wget -qO - https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -

sudo apt-get install -y nodejs libpq-dev

```



### Prepare Node



assuming you have cloned this repository to \$HOME/saltcorn (otherwise adjust PATH)



```

npm config set prefix ~/.local

echo 'export PATH=$HOME/saltcorn/packages/saltcorn-cli/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

```



### Install packages



run



```

npm install --legacy-peer-deps

npm run tsc

```



to install everything. If successful, you should now be able to run `saltcorn` in your shell.



NOTE: the installation builds the 'saltcorn/cordova-builder' docker image, and the first build takes several minutes. You can set the environment variable SKIP_DOCKER_IMAGE_INSTALL to 'true' (or disable docker) if you don't want to build it.



## Packages



- [@saltcorn-cli](https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn/tree/master/packages/saltcorn-cli): command-line interface



## Deployment tips



- If your Saltcorn server is running behind a reverse proxy such as Nginx, refer to the [Socket.io reverse proxy documentation](https://socket.io/docs/v3/reverse-proxy/#nginx). This configuration is essential for Socket.io, which powers the chat, log-viewer, and streaming API functionalities (e.g. for the [recorder plugin](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@saltcorn/recorder)).



## Development tips



### Prettier



we use prettier:



`npm install -g prettier`



to format code:



`git ls-files | grep -v builder_bundle | xargs prettier --write`



Run this before every pull request.



### dev server



`nodemon packages/saltcorn-cli/bin/saltcorn serve`



to also watch a local module



`nodemon --watch ../saltcorn-kanban/ packages/saltcorn-cli/bin/saltcorn serve`



### React build builder



```

cd packages/saltcorn-builder

npm install

npm install [email protected]

npm run build

```



### React rebuild on save



in `saltcorn/packages/saltcorn-builder/` run:



`git ls-files | entr npm run builddev`



but this is not a production build, so run



`npm run build`



when done.



If you get this error: `Error: error:0308010C:digital envelope routines::unsupported`,

run this and try again: `export NODE_OPTIONS=--openssl-legacy-provider`.



### Build tsdocs



```

npm install --legacy-peer-deps

npm run tsc

```



then



`npm run docs`



TSDocs will then be available in `docs/`.



To deploy these to https://saltcorn.github.io/tsdocs/:



```

cp -R docs/* /path/to/tsdocs

cd /path/to/tsdocs

git add .

git commit -am 'version number or other message...'

```