Packaging an app

An Orus app is a built web app plus a small manifest. Here is how to turn yours into one.

1. Build a static bundle

Build your web app so you end up with a folder containing an index.html and the files it loads. Any web stack that produces a static bundle works. The first-party apps use React, Vite, TypeScript and Tailwind.

2. Add the manifest

Next to index.html, add a small manifest. It says:

the app's name and version,
a short description,
the capabilities it asks for, such as playing audio and video, or capturing from the camera and microphone.

Ask only for what you need. Users see the list before they install, and an install that asks for more than the Store showed is stopped.

3. Install it

orus install ./my-app

Orus shows what the app asks for, you confirm, and it is installed under ~/.orus/apps/. It appears in the launcher.

4. Open it

orus open my-app

Or use the launcher. Each app runs in its own window.

Share it as a file

A .orusapp is your bundle as a zip. Anyone can install it with orus install my-app.orusapp.

Ship updates

Publish a new version and users run orus upgrade. Each app keeps its previous version, so orus rollback my-app brings it back.

Host your own catalog

orus catalog keygen mycatalog
orus catalog build --name mycatalog --key mycatalog.key --out ./catalog ./my-app
orus catalog serve ./catalog

Then add it as a source: orus sources add --development http://localhost:6678. See the command reference for every option.

A good example

Settings and the Store are web apps that run exactly the way yours will. They are the best reference for how an app can feel on Orus.