# Vela
**Virtual Environment for Local Apps**
**Your personal app server.**
Install Vela Server on your computer and manage your local apps from a browser.
Your server keeps your apps, settings and data in one place, on your own machine.
    [](LICENSE) [](https://github.com/jhd3197/vela/releases/latest) [](https://github.com/jhd3197/vela/releases) [](https://github.com/jhd3197/vela/releases/latest)
[Quick Start](#-quick-start) · [Your Devices](#-your-devices) · [The Idea](#-the-idea) · [Architecture](#-architecture) · [Platforms](#-platforms) · [Changelog](CHANGELOG.md) · [Develop](#-develop) · [Contributing](#-contributing) · [Support](#-support-vela)
```
┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐
│ Browser │ ───> │ Vela Hub │ ───> │ Local Apps │
│ (anyone) │ │ (open access)│ │ (your device)│
└─────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └─────────────┘
```
1. **Open the hub** in your browser.
2. **Browse available apps** — each app is a self-contained package with its own config.
3. **Run an app locally** — Vela launches it on your machine and gives you a place to manage it.
4. **Keep your apps** — they live with you, not on someone else's server.
Vela makes one request of its own: once a day it asks GitHub which release is
newest, so it can tell you when there is an update. That request is anonymous —
no identifier, no version report, nothing about your apps or your data — and
**Settings → Updates** turns it off, after which Vela contacts nothing. There is
no telemetry and no crash reporting; when something breaks, the record stays on
your computer for you to read.
An app is just a folder with an `app.json` manifest (name, icon, run command,
per-platform config — see the standalone `vela-hello` repository for a legacy example,
or `vela-templates` for a v2 starter). Installed apps live in `~/.vela/` (override with `VELA_DATA_DIR`).
The full format and REST API are documented in
[docs/CONTRACT.md](docs/CONTRACT.md).
Apps open in **windows on your desk**. Each window can be moved, resized,
snapped to a half or minimized into the rail, and every desktop keeps its own set.
A desktop can also be handed to an **agent**: it gets its own browser on the server
computer, uses only the apps, websites and files you allow, and stops to ask you
before it sends anything a website would act on. See the
[agent desktops guide](docs/AGENT-DESKTOPS.md).
Apps can also be wired together. **Automations** builds a set of steps visually —
on a schedule, on an authenticated web request, or when you press Run — and Vela
runs them on the server computer while the browser is closed. An automation that
wants to change an app's data shows the exact request and waits for you to allow
it. See the [automations guide](docs/AUTOMATIONS.md).
Ask can be more than one assistant. Create **bots** with their own instructions,
model and read-only access, chat with one, or put two to four of them in a
**room** where they answer in turn. See the [bots and rooms guide](docs/BOTS.md).
The [repository guide](docs/REPOSITORIES.md) describes the current split into
the hub, public SDK, contracts, templates, catalog and independent apps.
## 🏗️ Architecture
The hub is a **FastAPI backend** serving a **React frontend**, with a
config-driven app registry on top of per-platform runners
(`vela/runners/`: POSIX, Windows, and an Android stub). Every app declares
itself in an `app.json` manifest; the hub installs it into `~/.vela/`, launches
it as a local process or serves it as a web app — after that the hub stays out
of the way, and apps and their data never leave the machine.
## 🧰 Running it
Vela is meant to be operated from the dashboard, not a terminal.
- **Health** — a set of checks over this computer: room where your data lives,
whether Vela is reachable, a certificate about to expire, an app it wrongly
thinks is running, runtimes it needs, how long since the last backup. Several
come with a Repair button.
- **Backups** — on a schedule you choose, with a restore that verifies the
backup, stops running apps, saves a copy of what it replaces, and starts them
again.
- **Logs and errors** — Vela's own logs, readable and searchable in System, and
a record of what has failed, so a problem is something you can look at.
- **Support bundle** — one redacted file describing this server, built on your
computer for you to share if and when you want to.
- **Updates** — Vela notices new releases, checks the download against its
published checksum, backs up, and installs it, with a way back if you need
one.
Nothing in that list sends anything anywhere except the update check, which is
one anonymous request a day and can be turned off.
## 🖥️ Platforms
| Platform | Status |
|----------|--------|
| iPhone / iPad | Browser access to your Vela Server — [device setup](#-your-devices) |
| macOS / Linux | ✅ Local-process apps + web apps |
| Windows | ✅ Local-process apps + web apps |
| Android | 🔜 Native runner next (web apps already work via Chrome) |
## 🧭 Design Principles
Borrowed from our previous hub project and extended for everyone:
- **Config-driven**: apps and views are declared in config, not hardcoded.
- **Plugin/mixin architecture**: backends, runners, and platforms are swappable pieces.
- **Local-first**: the hub is a window; the apps and their data belong on your device.
- **Open by default**: open source, open access, open to community apps.
## 🛠️ Develop
The [developer guide](docs/DEVELOPMENT.md) covers source setup, tests and building
server downloads. The [design system guide](docs/DESIGN.md) covers how Vela is
coloured, spaced and drawn, and how to write a theme. The
[repository guide](docs/REPOSITORIES.md) maps the hub, SDK, contracts, templates
and independent apps.
This repository owns the Python server, React dashboard and compatibility tests.
The separate `vela-*` repositories are for app and SDK development; users do not
need to clone them to run the packaged server.
## 🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome. Read [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for setup,
verification and pull request guidance. See [CONTRIBUTORS.md](CONTRIBUTORS.md)
for credits and [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for notable changes.
```text
fork → branch → change → verify → pull request
```
**Useful links:** [Server guide](docs/SERVER.md) · [App guide](docs/APPS.md) ·
[Automations](docs/AUTOMATIONS.md) · [Bots and rooms](docs/BOTS.md) ·
[Agent desktops](docs/AGENT-DESKTOPS.md) ·
[Developer guide](docs/DEVELOPMENT.md) · [Report a vulnerability](SECURITY.md)
---
## 💛 Support Vela
Vela is free and open source. If it saves you time, you can help keep it going:
- ⭐ [Star the repo](https://github.com/jhd3197/vela) — it costs nothing and helps a lot
- 💖 [GitHub Sponsors](https://github.com/sponsors/jhd3197)
- ☕ [Buy Me a Coffee](https://buymeacoffee.com/jhd3197)
### 💎 Crypto
| | Asset | Network | Address |
|:---:|---|---|---|
| 
| **USDT** | **TRC-20** · Tron | `TTiCtqLauF1iSW2YGB3b78KmRxRqoLCgeL` |
| 
| **USDT / ETH** | **ERC-20** · Ethereum | `0xD13D5355Fa214e8317fea2ff192a065BaeC13527` |
| 
| **BTC** | **Bitcoin** | `bc1qatx67n3qxdvuv3arc9j8aytk34f22g02k9c7vr` |
| 
| **SOL** | **Solana** | `AWXzqtBEgUfteHPQtDegsZ6D5y57M3GGdKPD8rR7h6xu` |
---
## 📄 License
MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).
---