Daemon

Draw logic. Ship code.

Daemon is a visual state machine builder for developers who want to design application logic as diagrams and export that logic as working code. Instead of burying flows across files, conditions, and callbacks, Daemon gives you a canvas where states, transitions, guards, and actions can be modeled clearly.

The project is designed for practical engineering workflows: users can create projects, save and reload state machine canvases, validate graph structure, and generate code in JavaScript, TypeScript, or Python. Daemon aims to make complex logic easier to reason about, review, and ship.

Daemon is also an open source learning project. Contributors can work across frontend canvas UX, backend APIs, graph validation, compiler output, documentation, testing, and developer experience.

Live Demo

[PLACEHOLDER — add your deployed URL here]

Features

• Canvas builder for visually creating state machines
• Graph validator for detecting invalid or incomplete machine definitions
• Code compiler for JavaScript, TypeScript, and Python exports
• Save and load projects backed by PostgreSQL
• JWT authentication stored in HTTP-only cookies
• Dark and light mode support
• Contributor-friendly architecture using Next.js, Node.js, PostgreSQL, and ReactFlow

Tech Stack

Area	Technology
Frontend	Next.js 14, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, ReactFlow
Backend	Node.js, Express, TypeScript
Database	PostgreSQL 15
Auth	JWT in HTTP-only cookies
Deployment	Docker Compose for local development, deployable to platforms that support Node.js and PostgreSQL

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20 or newer
• npm
• Docker Desktop or Docker Engine with Docker Compose
• Git

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/itzzavdhesh/daemon.git
   cd daemon

2. Install dependencies:

   npm run install:all

3. Create environment files:

   cp .env.example .env
   cp server/.env.example server/.env

4. Start PostgreSQL, backend, and frontend with Docker Compose:

   docker compose up --build

5. Open the app:

   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend health check: http://localhost:4000/health

Local Development Without Docker

If PostgreSQL is already running locally, copy server/.env.example to server/.env, update DATABASE_URL if needed, then run:

npm run dev

Project Structure

daemon/
├── client/                     Next.js frontend application
│   ├── app/                    App Router pages and global styles
│   └── lib/                    Shared frontend utilities such as the API client
├── server/                     Express backend application
│   ├── src/db/                 Database pool, migrations, and migration runner
│   ├── src/middleware/         Express middleware such as JWT authentication
│   ├── src/routes/             Versioned API route handlers
│   └── src/types/              TypeScript declaration extensions
├── .github/                    Issue templates, PR template, labels, and CI
├── docker-compose.yml          Local PostgreSQL, backend, and frontend orchestration
├── package.json                Root workspace scripts
└── README.md                   Project overview and setup guide

Contributing

Contributions are welcome, especially from first-time open source contributors and GSSoC participants. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening an issue or pull request.

Good contributions include bug fixes, UI polish, accessibility improvements, docs, tests, validation rules, compiler output improvements, and small developer-experience upgrades.

Good First Issues

Beginner-friendly issues are tracked in GOOD_FIRST_ISSUES.md. Look for issues labeled:

• good first issue
• level: easy
• level: medium
• GSSoC

Roadmap

v0.1 - Current

• Project scaffold with Next.js frontend and Express backend
• PostgreSQL database schema for users and projects
• JWT authentication with HTTP-only cookies
• Basic landing, login, register, and dashboard pages
• Docker Compose local development setup

v0.2 - Contributor Foundations

• ReactFlow canvas editor for drawing states and transitions
• Project list and project editor pages
• Graph validator for missing start states, duplicate state names, and invalid transitions
• Google and GitHub OAuth login as a contributor task
• UI polish, loading states, empty states, and accessibility improvements

v0.3 - Compiler Preview

• JavaScript and TypeScript code generation from validated state machines
• Python code generation support
• Code preview modal with copy and download actions
• Export presets for common runtime styles
• Unit tests for validators and compiler output

v0.4 - Collaboration And Deployment

• Import and export project JSON
• Version history for saved machines
• Public read-only project sharing
• Hosted demo deployment
• Contributor documentation for advanced compiler tasks

License

Daemon is licensed under the MIT License.

Author

Created and maintained by Avdhesh Kumar Dadhich.