Skip to main content
ChatJS is a web app first. When you scaffold a new project, the browser experience is the default runtime: local development, production deployments, authentication, model access, and all core product features work on the web without any extra platform wrapper.

​
What you get by default

The generated app is a standard Next.js application with the ChatJS product stack already wired in:
  • App Router-based UI and routes
  • Authentication with Better Auth
  • Streaming chat, tools, attachments, and projects
  • Model gateways and provider configuration
  • Production deployment support for Vercel, Docker, and self-hosted environments
If you do nothing platform-specific, you are building and shipping the web app.

​
Development

The normal development flow is: 
npx @chat-js/cli@latest create my-app
cd my-app
bun install
bun run dev
That starts the ChatJS web app locally, usually at http://localhost:3000. For the full setup flow, environment variables, and first-run checklist, see Quickstart.

​
Production deployment

You can deploy the web app to any environment that supports Next.js. ChatJS documents three common paths:
  • Vercel for the recommended hosted setup
  • Docker for containerized deployment
  • Self-hosted for general Node.js platforms
The production base URL comes from appUrl in chat.config.ts, and that value is also reused by other platform integrations like the desktop app.

​
Relationship to Desktop

The desktop app is an optional Electron wrapper around this same web app. It loads your deployed ChatJS site in a native shell and adds desktop-specific behavior such as deep-link auth, tray integration, and auto-updates. If you want the native desktop wrapper, see Desktop.