Pointer Code Editor

A modern, AI-powered code editor built with Electron, React, TypeScript, and Python. Features VS Code-like interface, integrated terminal, AI assistance, and professional development tools.

⚠️ Latest Updates: Settings loading fixed with improved error handling | New comprehensive build scripts added | Enhanced proxy configuration for API endpoints

✨ Features

🎨 Professional Interface

VS Code-like UI - Familiar interface with professional themes
Monaco Editor - Full-featured editor with syntax highlighting for 50+ languages
Split View - Side-by-side file editing with multiple panes
Customizable Themes - Dark/light themes with VS Code compatibility

🤖 AI-Powered Development

Integrated AI Chat - Built-in AI assistant for code help and explanations
Code Completion - AI-powered autocomplete and suggestions
Code Analysis - Intelligent code review and optimization suggestions
Web Search Integration - Real-time web search using Google Search Results API

📁 Advanced File Management

File Explorer - Full-featured file tree with create/edit/delete
Real-time Sync - Live file synchronization and auto-save
Project Workspace - Multi-project support with workspace management
Search & Replace - Global search across files with regex support

💻 Integrated Development Tools

Built-in Terminal - xterm.js powered terminal with shell integration
Git Integration - Version control with visual diff and branch management
Multi-cursor Support - Advanced editing with multiple cursors
Code Folding - Collapsible code sections for better navigation

🎮 Modern Features

Discord Rich Presence - Show your coding activity on Discord
Cross-platform - Windows, macOS, and Linux support
Keyboard Shortcuts - Full VS Code-compatible shortcuts
Extension Support - Plugin architecture for custom functionality

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js (v18 or higher)
Python (v3.8 or higher)
Yarn (recommended) or npm
Git

Installation

Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/PointerIDE/Pointer.git
cd Pointer/App

Install Frontend Dependencies
```
yarn install
# or npm install
```

Install Backend Dependencies

Choose your platform-specific requirements:

# Windows
pip install -r backend/requirements_windows.txt

# macOS  
pip install -r backend/requirements_macos.txt

# Linux
pip install -r backend/requirements_linux.txt

Install Required Models

# Required for AI features
python -m spacy download en_core_web_sm

Configure Environment

# Create .env file
echo "VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:23816" > .env

npm run env

Launch Application

# Easy start (recommended) - uses new build scripts
yarn dev

# Alternative: Use automated build script
# Windows (CMD):
build.bat

# Windows (PowerShell):
.\build.ps1

# macOS/Linux:
./build.sh

# Alternative: Manual start
node start-pointer.js

🎯 Using New Build Scripts (Recommended)

We've added comprehensive build scripts with enhanced error handling and automatic troubleshooting:

# Windows (Command Prompt)
build.bat [OPTIONS]

# Windows (PowerShell)
.\build.ps1 [OPTIONS]

# macOS/Linux
./build.sh [OPTIONS]

Available Options:

--skip-checks / -s - Skip prerequisite checks (faster)
--debug / -d - Enable debug mode with verbose output
--clean / -c - Clean installation (removes node_modules)
--background / -b - Run components in background
--help / -h - Show help message

Examples:

build.bat --clean --debug           # Windows: Clean install with debug
./build.sh --skip-checks            # macOS/Linux: Skip checks for speed
.\build.ps1 -CleanInstall -Debug    # PowerShell: Clean install with debug

See BUILD_SCRIPTS_README.md for detailed documentation.

� Recent Changes & Improvements

🔧 Fixed Issues

Settings Loading Error

Problem: SyntaxError: Unexpected token '<', "<!DOCTYPE "..."

Solution:

Added global HTTP exception handler in backend (backend.py) to ensure JSON responses
Improved frontend error handling in FileSystemService.ts to detect and gracefully handle HTML responses
Added detailed error logging with response preview for debugging

Files Modified:

backend/backend.py - Added @app.exception_handler(HTTPException) for JSON error responses
src/services/FileSystemService.ts - Enhanced error handling with content-type validation

API Endpoint Proxying

Problem: Frontend couldn't reach backend in development mode

Solution:

Added comprehensive proxy configuration in vite.config.ts for all API endpoints
Proxies now include: /api, /read-settings-files, /save-settings-files, /execute-command, /read-file, /ws

Files Modified:

vite.config.ts - Added multiple proxy entries for backend communication

Settings Request Model

Problem: Optional parameters causing validation errors

Solution:

Made settingsDir parameter optional with default empty string in SettingsRequest model
Backend now uses its own cross-platform path resolution

Files Modified:

backend/backend.py - Updated request model to handle optional parameters

✨ New Features

Comprehensive Build Scripts

Three unified build scripts with automatic error handling and troubleshooting:

Scripts Created:

build.bat - Windows Command Prompt (CMD.exe)
build.ps1 - Windows PowerShell (PS 5.0+)
build.sh - macOS/Linux Bash

Features:

✅ Automatic prerequisite checking (Node.js, Python, Yarn/npm, Git)
✅ Port conflict detection
✅ Platform-specific requirements installation
✅ Error handling with automatic alternatives (npm fallback, Python3/Python)
✅ Debug mode with verbose output
✅ Clean installation option
✅ Integrated troubleshooting guide
✅ Colorized output with timestamps
✅ Interactive startup assistant

Files Created:

build.bat - Windows batch script
build.ps1 - PowerShell script
build.sh - Bash script
BUILD_SCRIPTS_README.md - Comprehensive documentation

�🔧 Advanced Setup

Manual Component Startup

If you prefer to start components individually:

# Terminal 1: Backend Server
cd backend
python run.py

# Terminal 2: Frontend Development Server  
yarn start

# Terminal 3: Electron App
yarn electron:dev

Environment Configuration

Create .env file with optional configurations:

# Backend API URL (default: http://localhost:23816)
VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:23816

# Development server port (default: 3000)
VITE_DEV_SERVER_PORT=3000

# OpenAI API key for enhanced AI features (optional)
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key_here

# Debug mode (optional)
DEBUG=true

Build for Production

# Build web application
yarn build

# Build Electron application
yarn electron:build

# Build for specific platform
yarn electron:build --win
yarn electron:build --mac  
yarn electron:build --linux

📁 Project Structure

App/
├── src/                          # React TypeScript frontend
│   ├── components/               # UI components
│   │   ├── Editor/               # Monaco editor components
│   │   ├── FileExplorer/         # File tree components
│   │   ├── Terminal/             # Terminal components
│   │   └── AIChat/               # AI chat interface
│   ├── services/                 # API services and utilities
│   ├── hooks/                    # React hooks
│   ├── utils/                    # Utility functions
│   ├── themes/                   # UI themes and styling
│   ├── types/                    # TypeScript type definitions
│   └── App.tsx                   # Main application component
├── backend/                      # Python FastAPI backend
│   ├── backend.py                # Main FastAPI server
│   ├── tools_handlers.py         # AI tool handlers
│   ├── git_endpoints.py          # Git integration endpoints
│   ├── codebase_indexer.py       # Code analysis and indexing
│   ├── routes/                   # API route modules
│   ├── tools/                    # Backend utility tools
│   └── requirements*.txt         # Platform-specific dependencies
├── electron/                     # Electron main process
│   ├── main.js                   # Main Electron application
│   ├── preload.js                # Preload script for renderer
│   ├── server.js                 # Local server integration
│   └── git.js                    # Git operations for Electron
├── tools/                        # Development and build tools
├── start-pointer.js              # Unified startup script
├── vite.config.ts                # Vite build configuration
└── package.json                  # Dependencies and npm scripts

⚙️ Configuration Options

Startup Script Options

# Standard startup
node start-pointer.js

# Background mode (detached terminal)
node start-pointer.js --background

# Skip connection checks (faster startup)
node start-pointer.js --skip-checks

# Both background and skip checks
node start-pointer.js --background --skip-checks

Development Scripts

# Development
yarn dev                    # Start all components
yarn dev:server            # Frontend only
yarn dev:electron          # Electron only

# Building
yarn build                  # Build for web
yarn electron:build        # Build Electron app

# Utilities
yarn electron:start        # Start built Electron app
yarn serve                  # Serve built web app

Discord Rich Presence

Configure Discord integration by editing settings in the application or manually:

{
  "enabled": true,
  "details": "Editing {file} | Line {line}:{column}",
  "state": "Workspace: {workspace}",
  "largeImageKey": "pointer_logo",
  "button1Label": "Website",
  "button1Url": "https://pointr.sh"
}

Web Search Integration

Enable real-time web search functionality using Startpage scraping:

Features:

Real-time Google search results (via Startpage)
No API keys or rate limits required
Privacy-focused search (no tracking)
Works immediately without setup

Test Integration:

cd backend
python test_startpage_scraping.py

For detailed implementation information, see backend/WEB_SEARCH_IMPLEMENTATION.md

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Backend Connection Errors

# Check if backend is running
curl http://localhost:23816/health

# Restart backend
cd backend && python run.py

Port Conflicts

# Check what's using ports
netstat -an | grep :23816
netstat -an | grep :3000

# Use different ports
VITE_PORT=3001 yarn dev

Frontend Build Issues

# Clear dependencies and reinstall
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
yarn install

# Clear build cache
rm -rf dist
yarn build

Electron App Issues

# Rebuild Electron dependencies
yarn postinstall

# Start with debug info
DEBUG=* yarn electron:dev

Python Dependencies

# Create virtual environment (recommended)
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Linux/macOS
# or
venv\Scripts\activate     # Windows

# Reinstall requirements
pip install -r backend/requirements.txt

Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging:

# Enable debug logging
DEBUG=true yarn dev

# Check backend logs
cd backend && python run.py --debug

# Electron with developer tools
yarn electron:dev --dev-tools

Performance Issues

Optimize for better performance:

Disable unnecessary features in development
Use --skip-checks flag for faster startup
Close unused file tabs in the editor
Limit terminal history if terminal becomes slow

Network Issues

Configure proxy or firewall:

# Check if ports are accessible
telnet localhost 23816
telnet localhost 3000

# Configure proxy in vite.config.ts if needed

🔌 API Endpoints

The backend provides these main endpoints:

GET /health - Health check
POST /execute-command - Execute terminal commands
GET /read-file - Read file contents
POST /write-file - Write file contents
GET /list-directory - List directory contents
POST /git/* - Git operations
POST /ai/chat - AI chat interface
GET /ws - WebSocket for real-time updates

🤝 Contributing to Code Editor

Development Setup

Fork the repository
Create feature branch (git checkout -b feature/editor-improvement)
Setup development environment following the installation guide
Make changes and test thoroughly
Submit pull request with clear description

Code Style Guidelines

TypeScript: Use strict type checking
React: Functional components with hooks
Python: Follow PEP 8 style guide
File naming: Use kebab-case for files, PascalCase for components

Testing

# Run frontend tests (when available)
yarn test

# Test backend endpoints
cd backend && python -m pytest

# Manual testing checklist:
# - File operations (create, edit, delete)
# - Terminal functionality
# - AI chat features
# - Git integration
# - Cross-platform compatibility

📝 License

This component is part of the Pointer project, licensed under the MIT License.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Monaco Editor - VS Code's editor component
xterm.js - Terminal emulator
Electron - Cross-platform desktop framework
FastAPI - Modern Python web framework
React - UI library
Vite - Build tool and dev server

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Pointer Code Editor

✨ Features

🎨 Professional Interface

🤖 AI-Powered Development

📁 Advanced File Management

💻 Integrated Development Tools

🎮 Modern Features

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Installation

🎯 Using New Build Scripts (Recommended)

� Recent Changes & Improvements

🔧 Fixed Issues

Settings Loading Error

API Endpoint Proxying

Settings Request Model

✨ New Features

Comprehensive Build Scripts

�🔧 Advanced Setup

Manual Component Startup

Environment Configuration

Build for Production

📁 Project Structure

⚙️ Configuration Options

Startup Script Options

Development Scripts

Discord Rich Presence

Web Search Integration

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Mode

Performance Issues

Network Issues

🔌 API Endpoints

🤝 Contributing to Code Editor

Development Setup

Code Style Guidelines

Testing

📝 License

🙏 Acknowledgments