Configuration

This page covers the settings, paths, and environment variables that matter for running SideLink locally, building the helper, publishing docs, and shipping releases.

Core Runtime Variables

Variable	Default	Purpose
SIDELINK_PORT	4010	HTTP port for the backend and control center
SIDELINK_DATA_DIR	tmp/desktop in desktop mode	Local database, sessions, uploads, and runtime state
SIDELINK_CLIENT_DIR	auto-detected	Built client path when serving production assets
SIDELINK_MODE	demo	Runtime mode used by server startup
SIDELINK_INTERNAL_TOKEN	generated when needed	Internal trusted token used by desktop-side flows

Apple And Helper Variables

Variable	Purpose
SIDELINK_TEAM_ID	Preferred Apple team for helper build/export
SIDELINK_HELPER_PROJECT_DIR	Override the helper project directory
SIDELINK_HELPER_SCHEME	Override the Xcode scheme used for helper builds
SIDELINK_HELPER_TOKEN	Static helper token fallback if needed

Security And Bootstrap

Variable	Purpose
SIDELINK_ENABLE_REAL_WORKER	Enables real execution paths instead of demo-only behavior
SIDELINK_ADMIN_USERNAME	Bootstrap username for the manual npm run db:bootstrap flow
SIDELINK_ADMIN_PASSWORD	Bootstrap password for the manual npm run db:bootstrap flow

Important Paths

Path	What it is for
tmp/desktop/	Local database, uploads, sessions, and runtime data during development
tmp/helper/	Exported helper IPA output
helper/	Tracked helper IPA used for release publishing
docs/source/apps/	Public app drop zone for the official source feed
docs/source/source.json	Canonical generated source manifest
docs/source.json	Copy of the generated source manifest at the docs root

Official Source Configuration

The official source feed is generated from docs/source/apps/.

Important rules:

1. Drop each .ipa into docs/source/apps/.
2. Add an optional same-name JSON override for human-friendly metadata.
3. Run npm run source:generate.
4. Tag and release.
5. GitHub Actions uploads every IPA in docs/source/apps/ as release assets.

Canonical feed URL:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gabrielvuksani/sidelink/main/docs/source/source.json

Docs Publishing

The docs site is a GitHub Pages project site.

• local preview uses /
• GitHub Actions builds use the repository sub-path automatically
• published URL: https://gabrielvuksani.github.io/sidelink/

Required repository setting

In GitHub repository Settings -> Pages, set Build and deployment > Source to GitHub Actions.

Helper Project Notes

The helper Xcode project is generated from:

• ios-helper/SidelinkHelper/project.yml

If you add Swift files and Xcode does not see them, regenerate the project before assuming the code is broken.