# Description of Changes
Previously, `VITE_*` environment variables were scattered across the
codebase with hardcoded fallback values inline (e.g.
`import.meta.env.VITE_STRIPE_KEY || 'pk_live_...'`). This made it
unclear which variables
were required, what they were for, and caused real keys to be silently
used in builds where they hadn't been explicitly configured.
## What's changed
I've added `frontend/.env.example` and `frontend/.env.desktop.example`,
which declare every `VITE_*` variable the app uses, with comments
explaining each one and sensible defaults where applicable. These
are the source of truth for what's required.
I've added a setup script which runs before `npm run dev`, `build`,
`tauri-dev`, and all `tauri-build*` commands. It:
- Creates your local `.env` / `.env.desktop` from the example files on
first run, so you don't need to do anything manually
- Errors if you're missing keys that the example defines (e.g. after
pulling changes that added a new variable). These can either be
manually-set env vars, or in your `.env` file (env vars take precedence
over `.env` file vars when running)
- Warns if you have `VITE_*` variables set in your environment that
aren't listed in any example file
I've removed all `|| 'hardcoded-value'` defaults from source files
because they are not necessary in this system, as all variables must be
explicitly set (they can be set to `VITE_ENV_VAR=`, just as long as the
variable actually exists). I think this system will make it really
obvious exactly what you need to set and what's actually running in the
code.
I've added a test that checks that every `import.meta.env.VITE_*`
reference found in source is present in at least one example file, so
new variables can't be added without being documented.
## For contributors
New contributors shouldn't need to do anything - `npm run dev` will
create your `.env` automatically.
If you already have a `.env` file in the `frontend/` folder, you may
well need to update it to make the system happy. Here's an example
output from running `npm run dev` with an old `.env` file:
```
$ npm run dev
> frontend@0.1.0 dev
> npm run prep && vite
> frontend@0.1.0 prep
> tsx scripts/setup-env.ts && npm run generate-icons
setup-env: see frontend/README.md#environment-variables for documentation
setup-env: .env is missing keys from config/.env.example:
VITE_GOOGLE_DRIVE_CLIENT_ID
VITE_GOOGLE_DRIVE_API_KEY
VITE_GOOGLE_DRIVE_APP_ID
VITE_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY
VITE_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST
Add them manually or delete your local file to re-copy from the example.
setup-env: the following VITE_ vars are set but not listed in any example file:
VITE_DEV_BYPASS_AUTH
Add them to config/.env.example or config/.env.desktop.example if they are required.
```
If you add a new `VITE_*` variable to the codebase, add it to the
appropriate `frontend/config/.env.example` file or the test will fail.
# Description of Changes
Adds the code for the SaaS frontend as proprietary code to the OSS repo.
This version of the code is adapted from 22/1/2026, which was the last
SaaS version based on the 'V2' design. This will move us closer to being
able to have the OSS products understand whether the user has a SaaS
account, and provide the correct UI in those cases.
* Adds a fallback mechanism so the desktop app routes tool operations to
the local bundled backend when the user's self-hosted Stirling-PDF
server goes offline, and disables tools in the UI that aren't supported
locally.
* `selfHostedServerMonitor.ts` independently polls the self-hosted
server every 15s and exposes which tool endpoints are unavailable when
it goes offline
* `operationRouter.ts` intercepts operations destined for the
self-hosted server and reroutes them to the local bundled backend when
the monitor reports it offline
* `useSelfHostedToolAvailability.ts` feeds the offline tool set into
useToolManagement, disabling affected tools in the UI with a
selfHostedOffline reason and banner warning
- `SelfHostedOfflineBanner `is a dismissable (session-only) gray bar
shown at the top of the UI when in self-hosted mode and the server goes
offline. It shows:
PostHog is now initialized with persistence: 'memory' so no cookies are
written on first load. Consent is handled in a PostHogConsentSync
component that switches to localStorage+cookie persistence only when the
user accepts, using the official @posthog/react package (cherry-picked
from 14aaf64)
---------
Co-authored-by: James Brunton <james@stirlingpdf.com>
Reece