Backers Little Helper

A desktop application built with Tauri 2 and Vue.js for managing Star Citizen game configurations and settings, featuring a sleek RSI-inspired interface.

Screenshots

Home Dashboard

Latest Comm-Links from Star Citizen Wiki and live RSI server status

Comm-Links

Browse the latest Star Citizen Comm-Links with images and descriptions

Vehicle Database

Search and view detailed specifications for Star Citizen vehicles

Tools & Directory Management

Manage game directories with backup, restore, and cleanup operations

Settings

Configure installation and backup directories

Features

• Home Dashboard:
  • Latest Comm-Links from Star Citizen Wiki API with images
  • Live RSI Server Status from official status feed
  • Beautiful RSI-inspired UI with space-themed background and glowing effects
  • Smart API caching (1 hour for Comm-Links, 30 days for vehicles)
• Vehicle Database:
  • Search Star Citizen vehicles with live API integration
  • View detailed vehicle specifications (manufacturer, type, size, crew, dimensions, mass)
  • Browse available shops and pricing information
  • Multilingual support (English/German/French)
• Application Menu:
  • Quick launch Star Citizen from configured installation directory
  • GitHub repository access
  • About dialog with copyright information
• Settings Management:
  • Installation Directory configuration
  • Backup Directory configuration with browse dialog
  • Settings persistence across application restarts
• Tools & Directory Management:
  • Backup Directory: Delete backup contents
  • User Directory: Backup, restore, and delete user data
  • Shader Directory: Delete shader cache
  • Log Directory: Delete logs with automatic size calculation and display
• Cross-platform: Built with Tauri 2 for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Multi-language Support: Automatically detects OS language (English, German, and French supported)
• Modern UI:
  • Vue 3 with Composition API
  • Custom RSI-inspired theme with sharp corners and blue glowing accents
  • Responsive design with dynamic font sizing
  • Noise texture overlay and atmospheric gradients

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v20.19+ or v22.12+)
• Rust (v1.90.0 or higher)
• npm or yarn package manager

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone git@github.com:pfitzer/BackersLittlleHelper.git
cd BackersLittleHelper

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

Development

Run the application in development mode:

npm run tauri dev

Code Quality

Linting

Run ESLint to check code quality:

npm run lint

Auto-fix linting issues:

npm run lint:fix

Testing

Run the test suite:

npm test

Run tests with UI:

npm run test:ui

Run tests in watch mode:

npm test -- --watch

Building

Build the application for production:

npm run tauri build

The built application will be available in src-tauri/target/release.

Running Unsigned Applications on Windows

If you're distributing unsigned builds, users will see Windows SmartScreen warnings. Here's how to bypass them:

When downloading:

1. Download the installer/executable
2. If browser warns about the file, click "Keep" or "Keep anyway"

When running the installer/app:

1. Double-click the executable
2. Windows SmartScreen will show "Windows protected your PC"
3. Click "More info" link
4. Click "Run anyway" button

Alternative method (for .exe files):

1. Right-click the executable
2. Select Properties
3. Check "Unblock" checkbox at the bottom
4. Click Apply → OK
5. Run the application normally

Note: These warnings appear because the application isn't code-signed.

Project Structure

BackersLittleHelper/
├── src/                        # Vue.js frontend source
│   ├── components/             # Vue components
│   │   ├── __tests__/         # Component tests
│   │   │   ├── Home.test.js
│   │   │   ├── Settings.test.js
│   │   │   ├── Tools.test.js
│   │   │   └── Vehicles.test.js
│   │   ├── Home.vue           # Home dashboard with Comm-Links and server status
│   │   ├── Settings.vue       # Settings page component
│   │   ├── Tools.vue          # Tools & directory management component
│   │   └── Vehicles.vue       # Vehicle search and details component
│   ├── App.vue                # Main app component
│   ├── main.js                # Vue app entry point
│   ├── i18n.js                # Internationalization configuration
│   └── style.css              # Global styles with dynamic font sizing
├── src-tauri/                 # Tauri backend
│   ├── src/                   # Rust source code
│   │   └── main.rs            # Main Rust backend with menu system
│   ├── icons/                 # Application icons
│   ├── capabilities/          # Tauri security capabilities
│   ├── Cargo.toml             # Rust dependencies
│   └── tauri.conf.json        # Tauri configuration
├── index.html                 # HTML entry point
├── vite.config.js             # Vite configuration
├── vitest.config.js           # Vitest test configuration
└── package.json               # Node.js dependencies

Technologies

• Frontend: Vue 3, Vite, vue-i18n
• Backend: Tauri 2, Rust
• UI Framework: Tailwind CSS with custom RSI-inspired theme
• Code Quality: ESLint, eslint-plugin-vue
• Testing: Vitest, Vue Test Utils (40 tests with 100% pass rate)
• APIs: Star Citizen Wiki API, RSI Status Feed (XML)
• Tauri Plugins:
  • FS (File System operations)
  • Dialog (File/folder selection)
  • HTTP (CORS-free API requests)
  • Opener (External links and URLs)
  • Shell (Process execution)

Configuration

Settings are stored in the application data directory:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\com.backers-little-helper\settings.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/com.backers-little-helper/settings.json
• Linux: ~/.config/com.backers-little-helper/settings.json

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Author

Michael Pfister (info@mp-development.de)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.