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This guide covers the development workflow for building Kit applications, including the dev server, hot reloading, and useful commands.

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Development Server

Start the development server with: 
kit serve
This starts:
  • Backend server on http://localhost:8080
  • Vite dev server on http://localhost:5173 (for frontend assets)

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Backend Only Mode

If you only need the Rust backend (no frontend): 
kit serve --backend-only

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Custom Ports

Configure ports using environment variables: 
# .env
PORT=3000
VITE_DEV_SERVER=http://localhost:5174

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Project Structure

A typical Kit project structure: 
my-app/
├── src/
│   ├── main.rs           # Application entry point
│   ├── routes.rs         # Route definitions
│   ├── controllers/      # Request handlers
│   ├── models/           # Database entities
│   ├── actions/          # Business logic
│   └── middleware/       # Custom middleware
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── main.tsx      # Frontend entry
│   │   └── pages/        # React components
│   ├── package.json
│   └── vite.config.ts
├── migrations/           # Database migrations
├── .env                  # Environment config
└── Cargo.toml

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Development Workflow

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1. Make Changes

Edit your Rust code in src/ or React code in frontend/src/.

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2. Automatic Recompilation

Kit watches for changes:
  • Rust changes: Recompiles automatically
  • React changes: Hot module replacement (instant updates)

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3. Test Your Changes

Visit http://localhost:8080 to see your changes.

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Database Development

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Running Migrations

# Run all pending migrations
kit migrate

# Check migration status
kit migrate:status

# Rollback last migration
kit migrate:rollback

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Syncing Entities

After modifying migrations, regenerate entity files: 
kit db:sync

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Fresh Database

Reset and re-run all migrations: 
kit migrate:fresh

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Code Generation

Kit provides generators to scaffold common components: 
# Create a controller
kit make:controller users

# Create a model
kit make:model User

# Create a migration
kit make:migration create_posts_table

# Create a page component
kit make:page Home

# Generate TypeScript types
kit generate-types

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Environment Configuration

Configure your app using .env: 
# Server
PORT=8080

# Database
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:./database.db

# Inertia/Frontend
INERTIA_DEVELOPMENT=true
VITE_DEV_SERVER=http://localhost:5173

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Debugging

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Logging

Kit uses Rust’s standard logging. Enable debug output: 
RUST_LOG=debug kit serve

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Database Queries

Enable SQL query logging: 
RUST_LOG=sea_orm=debug kit serve

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Testing

Run your test suite: 
cargo test

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Frontend Tests

cd frontend
npm test

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Building for Production

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Build the Backend

cargo build --release

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Build the Frontend

cd frontend
npm run build

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Run Production Server

INERTIA_DEVELOPMENT=false ./target/release/your-app

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Useful Commands

CommandDescription
kit serveStart dev server
kit serve --backend-onlyStart without Vite
kit migrateRun migrations
kit migrate:freshReset database
kit db:syncRegenerate entities
kit make:controller <name>Create controller
kit make:model <name>Create model
kit generate-typesGenerate TS types
cargo build --releaseProduction build