Installation

This guide walks you through installing everything you need to develop WebArcade applications.

Overview

You need to install three things:

Tool	Purpose	Required
Rust	Compiles the desktop runtime and plugin backends	Yes
Bun	Builds the frontend JavaScript	Yes
WebArcade CLI	Creates and manages projects	Yes

Step 1: Install Rust

Rust is a programming language that WebArcade uses for the desktop runtime.

Windows

Open PowerShell and run:

winget install Rustlang.Rustup

Or download the installer from rustup.rs.

macOS

Open Terminal and run:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Follow the prompts and select the default installation.

Linux

Open a terminal and run:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Verify Rust Installation

After installation, restart your terminal and run:

rustc --version

You should see something like:

rustc 1.75.0 (82e1608df 2023-12-21)

If you see "command not found", try restarting your terminal or computer.

Step 2: Install Bun

Bun is a fast JavaScript runtime used to build the frontend.

Windows

Open PowerShell and run:

powershell -c "irm bun.sh/install.ps1 | iex"

macOS

Open Terminal and run:

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

Linux

Open a terminal and run:

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

Verify Bun Installation

After installation, restart your terminal and run:

bun --version

You should see something like:

1.0.25

Step 3: Install WebArcade CLI

Now install the WebArcade command-line tool:

cargo install webarcade

This downloads and compiles the CLI. It may take a few minutes on first install.

Verify CLI Installation

webarcade --version

You should see:

webarcade 0.1.0

Step 4: Install WebView (Linux Only)

On Linux, you need to install WebKitGTK manually.

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev

Fedora

sudo dnf install webkit2gtk4.1-devel

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S webkit2gtk-4.1

Other Distributions

Search your package manager for webkit2gtk or webkitgtk.

Troubleshooting

"cargo: command not found"

Rust wasn't added to your PATH. Try:

1. Restart your terminal
2. If that doesn't work, add Rust to your PATH manually:

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:Path += ";$env:USERPROFILE\.cargo\bin"

macOS/Linux:

export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"

Add this line to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc to make it permanent.

"bun: command not found"

Bun wasn't added to your PATH. Try:

1. Restart your terminal
2. If that doesn't work, add Bun to your PATH:

macOS/Linux:

export PATH="$HOME/.bun/bin:$PATH"

Windows: "WebView2 not found"

WebView2 is usually pre-installed on Windows 10/11. If not:

1. Download from Microsoft's WebView2 page
2. Install the "Evergreen Bootstrapper"

Linux: Build Errors

If you get build errors about missing libraries, install these dependencies:

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install build-essential libgtk-3-dev libsoup-3.0-dev

Fedora:

sudo dnf install gtk3-devel libsoup3-devel

Compilation is Slow

First-time compilation can take several minutes. Subsequent builds are much faster because Rust caches compiled dependencies.

Checking Your Setup

Run this command to verify everything is installed:

rustc --version && bun --version && webarcade --version

You should see three version numbers. If any command fails, revisit the installation steps for that tool.

Next Steps

Everything installed? Let's create your first app!