Build, register, and share

Keep three objects distinct: the source project you edit, the runtime template you build, and the writable document someone creates from that template.

Check and build

In a generated project:

bun run check
bun run build

Build validates the app declaration and initial values, compiles Svelte and plain CSS, evaluates the schema and theme defaults, and packs everything into one template file, checked the way the Mac app checks it when it opens it. Output goes to dist/SLUG.slop. It contains no source, dependencies, caches, or personal document state. A failed build must not replace an existing successful output, and a build must never overwrite a writable document.

Build runs on macOS and Linux and needs only Bun. It refuses a project whose hitslop is newer than the CLI supports; update hitslop when it says so.

Finder artwork

A template’s Finder preview and icon come from one of three places:

• Your files. Images you declare as artwork: { preview, icon } in defineSlop (imported like any asset) are packed into the template on any platform. Use PNGs; the icon is 512 × 512.
• The Mac app. slop build . --artwork native renders whichever of the two you didn’t supply from your export and icon views. bun run register always does this. Native capture uses the installed hitSlop app; authoring never compiles Swift or installs another document engine.
• Neither. The template has no artwork, and Finder shows hitSlop’s document icon. Documents created from it still get their own artwork when they are first closed in hitSlop.

Register a local template

bun run register

Registration builds and installs an immutable master in ~/.hitslop/templates. The Mac catalog lists it alongside built-in starters. Choose Create and save a separate writable document. Re-registering replaces the previous master once the new build is complete; it does not modify documents already created from it.

For terminal document creation, see create and open a writable document.

Share a template or a document

For a reusable app, distribute the freshly built .slop template: it is one file, so it travels by Mail, AirDrop or any file service as it is. The recipient needs the hitSlop app. Opening a template asks where to create a writable document from it; to keep it in the catalog, place it in ~/.hitslop/templates and refresh.

For a filled document, use Share a Copy in the document window: it saves what you typed and shares a separate copy, while you keep editing. The copy carries the actual document, its attachments and theme overrides; inspect that content before sharing it (slop inspect lists what a file holds). Distributing source or a clean template does not include it. Keep active documents outside synced folders.

For read-only output, export PNG or PDF:

bunx hitslop export My.slop --format pdf --output My.pdf

See icons and exports for layouts and saved-state capture behavior. Live collaboration is coming soon. Public template publishing and hosted discovery remain future work; file distribution and image/PDF exports work locally today.

Release your source

Include slop.ts and the modules, styles, assets and components it imports, package.json, and the Bun lockfile. Keep generated dist/, writable documents, and dependencies out of source control. Test a fresh install, the smallest supported window, keyboard interaction, close-after-type, duplicate, theme reset, icon capture, and PNG/PDF output.