ComposeUI is a A .NET Core based general UI Container and Unified UI and App host which enables the hosting of Web and desktop content.

Our goal is to fill the feature gaps with respect to UI components, layout management, and subpar native hosting in other industry container solutions by providing a standard container as an open desktop platform. It is a hybrid solution that meets the needs of a diverse application catalog as well as a compelling opensource alternative.

It supports desktop and web applications in order to provide an evergreen alternative to Electron, OpenFin and similar by the use of WebView2.

• Node.js 18
• .NET 6
• Visual Studio: 2022

The javascript dependencies are managed by a lerna monorepo. To build them separately follow the steps below.

In the root folder

npm i

Build all modules:

npx lerna run build --stream

Test all modules:

npx lerna run test --stream

(If you don't want a detailed log, you can execute these without --stream)

Building a specific module:

npx lerna run build --stream --scope=@morgan-stanley/composeui-messaging-client

List all modules in the workspace

npx lerna list

For more information check the documentation.

The following steps are for building the experimental artifacts and shell for ComposeUI

Clone the main repository:

git clone https://github.com/morganstanley/ComposeUI.git

Open Powershell in the ComposeUI folder.

Restore nuget packages:

PS C:\projects\ComposeUI> .\build\dotnet-restore.ps1

Build .NET solutions:

PS C:\projects\ComposeUI> .\build\dotnet-build.ps1

Build javascript (with Lerna)

PS C:\projects\ComposeUI> .\build\lerna-build.ps1

Now the necessary artifacts have been built.

From the ComposeUI folder:

.\examples\fdc3-chart-and-grid\serve-chart-and-grid.ps1

Now the development servers are running:

• Chart: localhost:8080
• Grid: localhost:4200

1. It's recommended to add the shell binary to your PATH environment variable so you can use a shorthand:

cd .src\shell\dotnet\

.\add-to-path.ps1

2. Launch the FDC3 Example in the ComposeUI Shell:

MorganStanley.ComposeUI.Shell --ModuleCatalog:CatalogUrl file:///C:/ComposeUI/src/Shell/dotnet/examples/module-catalog.json --FDC3:AppDirectory:Source C:/ComposeUI/examples/fdc3-appdirectory/apps-with-intents.json

Similar steps can be taken in Visual Studio to have the same affect. See Prerequisites

The necessary solutions have to be built in the following order:

1. Message Router
2. ModuleLoader
3. DesktopAgent
4. AppDirectory
5. Shell

See FDC3 Chart and Grid Example

1. Open the Shell Solution
2. Choose "Shell" as the startup project
3. Run