Install and run Forma

A full-stack Forma application uses Node.js to build the frontend and Rust to build and run the server. Install both toolchains before creating your first native application. The browser lessons need neither. For a browser-only UI using @getforma/core, Node.js and npm are enough; Rust is needed when you build and run the native server.

Install the prerequisites#

Install Node.js from the official Node.js downloads. Install Rust through the official rustup instructions; rustup supplies both the rustc compiler and the cargo package/build tool. The Forma starter does not install Rust or Cargo.

Rust also needs your platform's native build tools: Xcode Command Line Tools on macOS, GCC or Clang with a linker on Linux, or the Visual Studio C++ build tools for the standard Windows MSVC toolchain. The Rust installation guide explains each platform's setup.

Open a new terminal after installation and check that all four commands work:

node --version
npm --version
rustc --version
cargo --version

The Node and Rust versions must meet the table above. If cargo is not found, finish the rustup setup and reopen your terminal so its PATH change takes effect.

Create the project#

Run this in the directory where you want a new my-app folder:

npx @getforma/create-app@3.0.0 my-app --template minimal

npx downloads and runs the published generator. It creates application source, frontend and Cargo lockfiles, and attempts to initialize a Git repository. It does not install the application's dependencies or start a server.

Build the frontend#

cd my-app/admin
npm ci
npm run build:ssr
cd ..

npm ci installs the exact frontend dependencies in admin/package-lock.json, including Forma core, compiler and build 3.0.0 from the npm registry. Use it for this shipped template; npm install can change the lockfile. Keep the generated .npmrc in place.

build:ssr produces native FMIR page modules and their paired browser assets. Build these before compiling Rust, which embeds the output. In this minimal template, ordinary npm run build instead selects browser rendering.

Compile and start the server#

From my-app, where Cargo.toml lives:

cargo run --locked --jobs 3

Cargo downloads missing Rust dependencies, including forma-ir and forma-server 3.0.0, Axum and Tokio from crates.io, compiles them and your application, then starts the server. These are libraries already declared in Cargo.toml, so you do not need a separate cargo install command. npm does not install these Rust crates. --locked requires the existing Cargo.lock resolution; --jobs 3 limits compilation parallelism. The first build takes longer while dependencies are downloaded and compiled. Cargo builds your server; it does not install the Rust toolchain or build your TypeScript. See the Cargo build guide and run options.

Check the result#

Open http://localhost:3000. The initial HTML contains a counter at 7; its island makes Increment change it to 8. Refresh returns to the server's seed of 7 because this example does not save edits. /about renders without executable JavaScript. Stop the local server with Ctrl+C.

The starter already includes Axum for HTTP routing and Tokio for async execution. You can add API routes, middleware and database connections to this Rust server. Follow Build your backend to add a JSON endpoint and see which responsibilities belong to Forma, Axum and your application libraries.

Continue with the minimal template walkthrough or Field Notes to add validated, persistent edits.

These prerequisites and steps follow the published 3.0.0 starter and its minimal template. Both lockfiles belong in your application repository.