ODE Desktop developer mode

Developer mode in ODE Desktop lets you iterate on a local custom app build (for example dist/ after your app’s build command, such as npm run build or pnpm run build) against a profile’s real observations and workspace, without replacing the bundle you downloaded from Synkronus. Building ODE Desktop itself uses pnpm — see Development Setup.

What it is

When developer mode is on, ODE Desktop mirrors your selected folder into the profile workspace under bundles/dev-local/. The workbench then loads:

Custom app from bundles/dev-local/app/
Form preview from bundles/dev-local/forms/ (when your folder includes a forms/ directory)

Observations, attachments, and sync still use the profile database. The Synk-downloaded bundle in bundles/active/ is not overwritten.

Prerequisites

ODE Desktop installed — see Installing ODE Desktop.
A profile with a configured workspace.
A local folder whose root contains index.html (typical: your custom app dist/ output).
Optional: download an app bundle from Synkronus on the Bundles page so bundles/active/ has forms and app.config.json when developer mode is off.

Enable developer mode

Open Workbench → Bundles.
Turn Developer mode On.
Click Browse… and select the folder that contains index.html.
Wait for the first mirror to finish (or click Refresh app).

While developer mode is on, an orange banner appears on all Workbench pages with the folder path and a Refresh app shortcut.

Folder layout

Your selected folder is the app root (same idea as the app/ directory inside a published bundle):

my-custom-app/dist/
  index.html          ← required at root
  app.js
  assets/
  forms/              ← optional; mirrored for Form preview
    my_form/
      schema.json
      ui.json

Custom app entry: index.html at the selected path (not a parent repo root unless that root is your built app).
Forms: standard bundle layout under forms/{formType}/schema.json and ui.json, plus optional forms/ext.json and custom question types (same as Formulus bundles).

Refresh app

After you rebuild the custom app or edit forms locally:

Click Refresh app on the Bundles page or in the Workbench banner.

This re-runs the mirror (source → bundles/dev-local/app/ and source/forms/ → bundles/dev-local/forms/). Custom app and Form preview pick up changes on the next load (the embed remounts automatically after a successful mirror).

Refresh from server on the Bundles page is separate: it updates bundles/active/ from Synkronus only.

What changes when developer mode is on

Area	Behavior
Custom app (Workbench)	Loads mirrored app under `bundles/dev-local/app/`
Form preview	Lists and loads specs from `bundles/dev-local/forms/` when mirrored
Observations / sync	Unchanged — profile SQLite
Downloaded bundle	Stays in `bundles/active/` for server reload and non-dev use
`getCustomAppUri` / `getFormSpecsUri` (in preview bridge)	Point at dev-local roots when mode is on

When developer mode is on, every Workbench route shows a compact status strip above sync/activity messages: active folder path and Refresh app. Configure the folder and toggle on the Bundles page only.

Limitations

Device APIs (camera, GPS, QR, etc.) are stubbed in ODE Desktop form preview, same as before developer mode.
The mirror is a copy — edit files in your source folder, then Refresh app; ODE Desktop does not watch the filesystem.
Invalid or missing folder (no index.html) shows a blocking error; the custom app does not silently fall back to bundles/active/.
Observation query indexes use app.config.json from the mirrored app when developer mode is on; rebuild indexes if you change index declarations (see Observation queries).

Platform comparison

	Formulus (device)	ODE Desktop (developer mode)
Custom app source	Downloaded bundle	Local folder → `bundles/dev-local/app/`
Forms	Bundle on device	Mirrored `forms/` or `bundles/active/forms/` when off
Observations	On-device DB	Profile workspace SQLite
Typical use	Field collection	Local iteration before publish