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BytesAgain β€Ί Skills β€Ί Private Web App (PWA)
πŸ¦€ ClawHub

Private Web App (PWA)

by @camopel

Personal PWA dashboard server with plugin apps. Use when: (1) installing or setting up PrivateApp, (2) starting/stopping/restarting the service, (3) building...

Versionv1.0.3
Downloads1,069
Installs1
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TERMINAL
clawhub install privateapp

πŸ“– About This Skill

name: privateapp description: "Personal PWA dashboard server with plugin apps. Use when: (1) installing or setting up PrivateApp, (2) starting/stopping/restarting the service, (3) building frontends after changes, (4) adding new app plugins, (5) configuring push notifications. Requires Python 3.9+, Node.js 18+. Runs as systemd user service or launchd plist."

PrivateApp

Personal PWA dashboard β€” FastAPI backend + React/Vite frontend with plugin apps.

Screenshots

!Home !System !Files

Setup

# Clone and install (creates venv, builds frontends, sets up systemd/launchd)
git clone https://github.com/camopel/PrivateApp.git ~/Workspace/PrivateApp
cd ~/Workspace/PrivateApp
bash scripts/install.sh [--port 8800]

Copy scripts/config.example.json β†’ scripts/config.json and edit: 

{
  "host": "0.0.0.0",
  "port": 8800,
  "data_dir": "~/.local/share/privateapp",
  "file_browser": { "root": "~" },
  "push": { "vapid_email": "you@example.com" }
}

Service Management

# Linux (systemd user service)
systemctl --user start privateapp
systemctl --user stop privateapp
systemctl --user restart privateapp
systemctl --user status privateapp
macOS (launchd)

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.privateapp.server.plist
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.privateapp.server.plist
Manual

.venv/bin/python3 scripts/server.py --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8800

Build Frontends

After any frontend change, rebuild: 

# Build shell (home screen)
cd frontend && npm run build
Build all app frontends

for app_dir in apps/*/frontend; do
  [ -f "$app_dir/package.json" ] && (cd "$app_dir" && npm install && npm run build)
done
Or use the install script which builds everything

bash scripts/install.sh

Then restart the service.

Built-in Apps

| App | Shortcode | Description | |-----|-----------|-------------| | πŸ“Š System | sysmon | CPU, RAM, disk, GPU stats and service health | | πŸ“ Files | files | Browse, preview, and share files |

Adding a New App

Create apps/{app-id}/ with:

  • app.json β€” metadata (id, name, shortcode, icon, description)
  • backend/routes.py β€” FastAPI router (mounted at /api/app/{shortcode}/)
  • frontend/ β€” React SPA (Vite, builds to frontend/dist/)

    • Shortcode must be unique. The app loader auto-discovers on startup.

    See the existing apps for reference patterns. Key conventions:

  • All routes async def, return plain dicts
  • Frontend uses CSS custom properties for dark mode
  • Input font-size β‰₯ 16px (prevents iOS auto-zoom)
  • Every app has a back button linking to /

    • Push Notifications

    Apps can send push via commons.push_client: 

    from commons.push_client import send_push
await send_push(title="Alert", body="Something happened", url="/app/my-app/")

    Data

    ~/.local/share/privateapp/
β”œβ”€β”€ privateapp.db       # Settings, preferences, push subscriptions
β”œβ”€β”€ vapid_private.pem   # VAPID signing key
└── vapid_public.txt    # VAPID public key

    Key APIs

  • GET /api/apps β€” list installed apps
  • GET /api/settings/preferences β€” get preferences (timezone, language, app_order)
  • POST /api/settings/preferences β€” save preferences
  • POST /api/push/send β€” send push notification
  • GET /api/push/test β€” test push

    • βš™οΈ Configuration

    # Clone and install (creates venv, builds frontends, sets up systemd/launchd)
git clone https://github.com/camopel/PrivateApp.git ~/Workspace/PrivateApp
cd ~/Workspace/PrivateApp
bash scripts/install.sh [--port 8800]

    Copy scripts/config.example.json β†’ scripts/config.json and edit: 

    {
  "host": "0.0.0.0",
  "port": 8800,
  "data_dir": "~/.local/share/privateapp",
  "file_browser": { "root": "~" },
  "push": { "vapid_email": "you@example.com" }
}