Deployment Modes

protoLabs Studio supports three deployment modes depending on your use case.

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Mode 1: Standard Electron (Bundled Server)

The default desktop build. Bundles the backend server inside the Electron app and launches it automatically on startup.

Build:

npm run build:electron

Run: Double-click the produced .dmg / .exe / .AppImage.

Characteristics:

• Self-contained — no external server required.
• Server starts on a dynamically selected port (default 3008).
• API key is generated automatically for CSRF protection.
• Suitable for individual developers and standard desktop installs.

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Mode 2: Legless Electron (External Server — Shows Picker)

A slimmed-down Electron build that ships without the embedded server. On first launch it prompts the user to connect to a running Automaker server instance.

Build:

npm run build:electron:legless

Characteristics:

• SKIP_EMBEDDED_SERVER=true is baked in at build time.
• The prepare-server.mjs bundling step is skipped entirely (faster builds, smaller app).
• No server-bundle extraResources are included in the installer.
• On launch, a native dialog asks the user to confirm the server URL.
  • Default: http://localhost:3008
  • Override via AUTOMAKER_SERVER_URL environment variable before launching.
• Uses session-based authentication (same as web mode) — no embedded API key.
• Suitable for teams running a shared/remote Automaker server (VPS, LAN, Docker).

Connect to a custom server:

AUTOMAKER_SERVER_URL=http://192.168.1.50:3008 open protoLabs\ Studio.app

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Mode 3: Headless Server (No UI)

Run the Automaker backend server in production mode with auto-mode enabled and no Electron UI. Ideal for CI runners, servers, or agent-only workloads.

Start:

# From the repository root (runs built dist/index.js)
cd apps/server && npm run start:headless

# Or via workspace script
npm --workspace=apps/server run start:headless

Characteristics:

• NODE_ENV=production — production logging and behaviour.
• AUTO_MODE=true — agents start and operate without manual intervention.
• No Electron, no browser window, no UI dependencies.
• Exposes the same HTTP/WebSocket API as the bundled Electron server.
• Suitable for 24/7 agent servers, staging environments, and headless CI builds.

Prerequisites: Build the server first.

cd apps/server && npm run build

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Headless Example: proto.config.yaml with 2-Agent Defaults

Place proto.config.yaml in your project root (or the DATA_DIR) to configure the headless server's default agent pool.

# proto.config.yaml — headless server example with 2-agent defaults

server:
  port: 3008
  autoMode: true

agents:
  defaults:
    count: 2
    model: claude-opus-4-6
    maxTokens: 8192

  pool:
    - name: builder
      role: engineer
      autoStart: true
      description: 'Implements features and fixes bugs'

    - name: reviewer
      role: reviewer
      autoStart: true
      description: 'Reviews PRs and enforces code quality'

Environment variables for headless mode:

Variable	Description	Default
PORT	Server listen port	3008
NODE_ENV	Node environment	development
AUTO_MODE	Enable autonomous agent operation	false
DATA_DIR	Path to persistent data directory	./data
AUTOMAKER_API_KEY	API key for client authentication	auto-generated
ALLOWED_ROOT_DIRECTORY	Restrict file access to this path	unrestricted