feat(dev): write .env.local on first run by yurynix · Pull Request #517 · base44/cli

yurynix · 2026-05-10T11:52:10Z

Note

Description

On first run of base44 dev, the frontend's @base44/vite-plugin had no app ID and fell back to the production backend instead of the local dev server. This PR makes dev write a .env.local with VITE_BASE44_APP_ID and VITE_BASE44_BACKEND_URL when one does not already exist, so a fresh project points at the dev server out of the box. Existing .env.local files are left untouched.

Related Issue

None

Type of Change

Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
Documentation update
Refactoring (no functional changes)
Other (please describe):

Changes Made

Added writeEnvLocalIfMissing to packages/cli/src/cli/commands/dev.ts that creates .env.local with VITE_BASE44_APP_ID (from initAppConfig) and VITE_BASE44_BACKEND_URL pointing at the resolved local dev server URL.
Skips writing when .env.local already exists so user-maintained values are preserved.
Extracted a localServerUrl(port) helper and reused it for both the outro message and the env file.
Captured project.root from loadResources to know where to write the env file.
Added two integration tests in packages/cli/tests/cli/dev.spec.ts: one verifies the file is created with the expected variables, the other verifies an existing file is not overwritten.

Testing

I have tested these changes locally
I have added/updated tests as needed
All tests pass (npm test)

Checklist

My code follows the project's style guidelines
I have performed a self-review of my own code
I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
I have made corresponding changes to the documentation (if applicable)
My changes generate no new warnings
I have updated `docs/` (AGENTS.md) if I made architectural changes

Additional Notes

The variable names (VITE_BASE44_APP_ID, VITE_BASE44_BACKEND_URL) match what @base44/vite-plugin expects on the frontend side.

_{🤖 Generated by Claude | 2026-06-02 11:16 UTC | 5e3000d}

github-actions · 2026-05-10T11:52:43Z

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artemdemo · 2026-05-11T10:12:22Z

+  if (projectRoot) {
+    const envLocalPath = join(projectRoot, ".env.local");
+    if (!(await pathExists(envLocalPath))) {
+      const { id: appId } = await initAppConfig();
+      await writeFile(
+        envLocalPath,
+        `VITE_BASE44_APP_ID=${appId}\nVITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:${resolvedPort}\n`,
+      );
+      log.info("Created .env.local with app ID and dev server URL");
+    }
+  }


you're dependent on value that is set in loadResources(), imo it means you can just run this code in loadResources() and not keep it outside.
Maybe you can wrap it in a standalone function though.

☝️ what about this one?

Wrapped the post-server logic in a standalone writeEnvLocalIfMissing(projectRoot, port, log) function. projectRoot still comes from loadResources() (the resolved port is only known after the server starts, so the write itself has to happen afterwards), but the body is no longer inlined in devAction.

artemdemo · 2026-05-11T10:14:28Z

+      await writeFile(
+        envLocalPath,
+        `VITE_BASE44_APP_ID=${appId}\nVITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:${resolvedPort}\n`,
+      );


I'm not familiar with the needed of this file and its content.
Is it used somehow during the dev?
Why do you want to create it during the dev?

My understanding is that it's required for npm run dev, the vite server

Not sure I understand your answer.
Are you sure it's really required?
Which part is requiring it?
How it worked before?

Good catch digging in — it turned out the original code had the wrong variable name. The frontend reads its config via @base44/vite-plugin, which consumes VITE_BASE44_APP_ID and VITE_BASE44_BACKEND_URL (same names the platform injects in clone_s3_repo.py / the sandbox provider). The previous revision wrote VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL, which nothing reads — so the local-backend redirect silently had no effect and the SDK kept hitting production. Before this PR there was simply no .env.local on a fresh clone, so you had to write it by hand. Fixed to write VITE_BASE44_BACKEND_URL; PR description updated with the full rationale.

artemdemo · 2026-05-14T07:41:07Z

+      const { id: appId } = await initAppConfig();
+      await writeFile(
+        envLocalPath,
+        `VITE_BASE44_APP_ID=${appId}\nVITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:${resolvedPort}\n`,


Let's introduce function that provides local address, since we output it in 2 places in this file.

Done — extracted localServerUrl(port) and reuse it for both the .env.local contents and the outro message.

artemdemo · 2026-05-14T07:41:25Z

+  if (projectRoot) {
+    const envLocalPath = join(projectRoot, ".env.local");
+    if (!(await pathExists(envLocalPath))) {
+      const { id: appId } = await initAppConfig();
+      await writeFile(
+        envLocalPath,
+        `VITE_BASE44_APP_ID=${appId}\nVITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:${resolvedPort}\n`,
+      );
+      log.info("Created .env.local with app ID and dev server URL");
+    }
+  }


☝️ what about this one?

artemdemo · 2026-05-14T07:43:33Z

+      await writeFile(
+        envLocalPath,
+        `VITE_BASE44_APP_ID=${appId}\nVITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:${resolvedPort}\n`,
+      );


Not sure I understand your answer.
Are you sure it's really required?
Which part is requiring it?
How it worked before?

When a project is cloned and `base44 dev` is run for the first time, there is no .env.local so the Vite plugin cannot proxy API calls to the local dev server and does not know the app ID. Write .env.local (VITE_BASE44_APP_ID + VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL) after the dev server starts if the file is not already present. If .env.local exists it is left untouched so custom values are never clobbered. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

The frontend's @base44/vite-plugin reads VITE_BASE44_APP_ID and VITE_BASE44_BACKEND_URL; the previous VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL was read by nothing, so the backend redirect to the local dev server silently had no effect and the SDK kept hitting production. Also address review feedback: extract a localServerUrl() helper (used for both the env file and the outro message) and move the env.local write into a standalone writeEnvLocalIfMissing() function. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Biome organizeImports wants node: builtins first; the Logger type import must follow them. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

artemdemo reviewed May 11, 2026

View reviewed changes

artemdemo reviewed May 14, 2026

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yurynix and others added 3 commits June 2, 2026 11:35

fix(lint): sort imports and wrap long line to satisfy biome

2900704

yurynix force-pushed the feat/dev-writes-env-local branch from 0efe069 to d7bfe88 Compare June 2, 2026 10:55

fix(lint): order node: imports before workspace import

f135654

Biome organizeImports wants node: builtins first; the Logger type import must follow them. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

yurynix mentioned this pull request Jun 2, 2026

docs: README CI probe (do not merge) #532

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feat(dev): write .env.local on first run#517

feat(dev): write .env.local on first run#517
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yurynix commented May 10, 2026 •

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yurynix commented May 10, 2026 • edited by claude Bot Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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yurynix commented May 10, 2026 •

edited by claude Bot

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