Installation

NavSlides Editor can be run via Docker, as a desktop app, or directly from source with Node.js.

Option 1: Docker (Recommended)

Docker is the easiest way to run NavSlides Editor as a persistent server.

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose installed

Steps

git clone https://github.com/xuan2261/NavSlidesEditor.git
cd NavSlidesEditor
docker compose up -d

Then open http://127.0.0.1:3002 in your browser. The container listens on 0.0.0.0 internally; host publication defaults to loopback. Set NAVSLIDES_PUBLISH_HOST only behind an external authentication layer.

Browser mutation and reverse-proxy policy

The server has no built-in authentication. Keep browser mutation routes on loopback by default, or place an external authentication layer in front of any non-loopback deployment. Configure the local CSRF boundary with:

• NAVSLIDES_LOCAL_ALLOWED_HOSTS: comma-separated host[:port] values; defaults to localhost, 127.0.0.1, and [::1].
• NAVSLIDES_LOCAL_ALLOWED_ORIGINS: optional exact http(s) origins; paths, credentials, queries, and fragments are rejected.
• NAVSLIDES_TRUSTED_PROXY_ADDRESSES: proxy IPs allowed to supply X-Forwarded-Host and X-Forwarded-Proto; forwarded headers are ignored for all other peers.
• NAVSLIDES_ALLOW_MISSING_ORIGIN: missing Origin is allowed by default to preserve non-browser clients and existing integrations. Set it to 0 when an exposed deployment must require same-origin Origin headers on every mutation request.

Present Origin headers must match the effective host/protocol and configured allowlist. This policy is not application authentication or tenant isolation.

Uploaded SVG is sanitized on upload and again when served, including legacy files, and is returned with sandbox CSP, nosniff, and same-origin resource policy headers.

Useful Docker commands

# Start in background
docker compose up -d

# View logs
docker compose logs -f

# Stop
docker compose down

# Rebuild after pulling updates
git pull
docker compose up -d --build

Data persistence

Path inside container	What it stores
/app/presentations	All saved presentation files
/app/uploads	Uploaded images and assets

These are mounted to ./presentations and ./uploads on the host by default (see docker-compose.yml).

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Option 2: Desktop App (Electron)

The desktop app bundles the editor and server into a standalone application — no Docker or Node.js required.

Download

Go to the Releases page and download the build for your platform:

Platform	File	Notes
Windows (installer)	NavSlides Editor Setup x.x.x.exe	Installs to Program Files and adds a Start menu shortcut
Windows (portable)	NavSlides Editor x.x.x.exe	Runs directly, no installation

Linux & macOS

Prebuilt Linux and macOS packages are not published yet. You can build them yourself from source — see Building from Source (npm run electron:build:linux or electron:build:mac).

TIP

On first launch the desktop app will open both the editor window and a local server on port 3002. You can also access the editor from a browser at http://127.0.0.1:3002.

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Option 3: Node.js from Source

For developers or anyone who wants to customize the editor.

Prerequisites

• Node.js >=22.22.2, >=24.15.0, or >=26 and npm. CI and container builds pin Node.js 22.23.3.

Steps

git clone https://github.com/xuan2261/NavSlidesEditor.git
cd NavSlidesEditor
npm install

Development mode (hot reload)

npm run dev

Opens the editor at http://localhost:5173 with Vite HMR.

Production mode

npm run build
npm start

Serves the built app at http://127.0.0.1:3002.

Data persistence

Data files are stored under server/data/ and uploaded assets under server/uploads/. In Docker, named volumes mount these locations at /app/server/data and /app/server/uploads.

Back up server/data/ when running from source; it is not tracked by git.