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Getting Started with Zhiva

This guide will walk you through installing Zhiva and creating your first application.

Installation

Install instructions

After installation, you will have the zhiva command available in your terminal.

Creating Your First Application

The easiest way to start a new Zhiva application is by using the official template.

1. Clone the Template

Use git to clone the template repository to your local machine:

git clone https://github.com/wxn0brP/Zhiva-template-app my-awesome-app
cd my-awesome-app

2. Understand the Project Structure

The template provides a standard structure for a full-stack Zhiva application:

my-awesome-app/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts         # Backend entry point (runs in Bun)
│   └── browser.ts       # Frontend entry point (runs in the webview)
├── public/
│   └── index.html       # The main HTML file for your UI
├── dist/                # (Generated) Compiled frontend code
├── package.json         # Project dependencies and scripts
└── zhiva.json           # Zhiva-specific application manifest
  • src/index.ts: This is your server-side code. You'll set up your static file serving and API endpoints here.
  • src/browser.ts: This is your client-side code. All your frontend logic goes here.
  • public/index.html: The webview loads this file, which then loads your compiled browser.ts script.

3. Install Dependencies and Build

The template comes with a package.json file that defines the necessary dependencies and scripts.

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Build the frontend
bun run build

The build command (defined in package.json) compiles src/browser.ts and places the output in the dist/ directory.

4. Run the Application

You can now run your application using the zhiva CLI:

zhiva start .

# Or

bun run start

This will execute the start script in your package.json (which runs src/index.ts), launch the native window, and load your application.

For a full guide on configuration and APIs, see the other documentation pages.