> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/bitwarden/clients/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# System requirements

> Required software, tools, and system specifications for developing Bitwarden client applications

# System requirements

This page outlines the software, tools, and system requirements needed to develop Bitwarden client applications.

## Universal requirements

These requirements apply to all applications in the repository:

### Node.js

<Info>
  **Required version:** Node.js >= 22.12.0

  The repository specifies v22 in `.nvmrc` and enforces `>= 22.12.0` in package.json engines.
</Info>

**Installation options:**

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="nvm (recommended)">
    Using Node Version Manager automatically uses the correct version:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Install nvm (if not already installed)
    curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

    # Install and use the correct Node version
    nvm install
    nvm use
    ```

    The `.nvmrc` file in the repository root specifies the exact version.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Direct download">
    Download Node.js 22.12.0 or later from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/):

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Verify installation
    node --version  # Should show v22.12.0 or higher
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Package managers">
    Install via your system's package manager:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # macOS (Homebrew)
    brew install node@22

    # Ubuntu/Debian
    curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
    sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

    # Windows (Chocolatey)
    choco install nodejs --version=22.12.0
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### npm

<Info>
  **Required version:** npm \~10 (npm 10.x.x)

  Comes bundled with Node.js 22.12.0+
</Info>

```bash theme={null}
# Verify npm version
npm --version  # Should show 10.x.x

# Update npm if needed
npm install -g npm@10
```

### Git

**Required for:** Cloning the repository and version control

```bash theme={null}
# Verify installation
git --version  # Any recent version is fine

# Install if needed
# macOS: Included with Xcode Command Line Tools
xcode-select --install

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install git

# Windows: Download from git-scm.com
```

## Application-specific requirements

### Browser extension

**Supported browsers for development:**

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Chrome/Chromium">
    * **Chrome:** Version 90 or later
    * **Chromium:** Latest version
    * **Brave, Vivaldi, Edge:** Based on Chromium, should work

    **Development:**

    ```bash theme={null}
    cd apps/browser
    npm run build:chrome
    # Load unpacked extension from build/
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Firefox">
    * **Firefox:** Version 90 or later
    * **Firefox Developer Edition:** Recommended for development

    **Development:**

    ```bash theme={null}
    cd apps/browser
    npm run build:firefox
    # Load temporary add-on from build/
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Safari">
    * **macOS:** 13.0 (Ventura) or later
    * **Xcode:** Required for Safari extension development

    **Development:**

    ```bash theme={null}
    cd apps/browser
    npm run build:safari
    # Convert to Safari extension using Xcode
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

**Build requirements:**

* **Memory:** 8 GB RAM minimum (builds use `--max-old-space-size=8192`)
* **Disk space:** \~2 GB for dependencies and build artifacts

### Desktop application

**Platform-specific requirements:**

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Windows">
    **Required:**

    * Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
    * Visual Studio Build Tools 2019 or later
    * Python 3.x (for node-gyp)

    **Installation:**

    ```powershell theme={null}
    # Install build tools
    npm install --global windows-build-tools

    # Or install Visual Studio with C++ workload
    # Download from visualstudio.microsoft.com
    ```

    **Native modules:**

    * Desktop app includes Rust native modules
    * Rust toolchain required for building native components
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="macOS">
    **Required:**

    * macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) or later
    * Xcode Command Line Tools
    * Rust toolchain (for native modules)

    **Installation:**

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Install Xcode Command Line Tools
    xcode-select --install

    # Install Rust
    curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

    # For building native autofill module
    cd apps/desktop/desktop_native
    ./autofill_provider/build.sh
    ```

    **For macOS extension:**

    * Xcode 14+ required
    * Apple Developer account for signing
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Linux">
    **Required:**

    * Ubuntu 20.04+ / Debian 11+ / Fedora 35+ or equivalent
    * Build essentials
    * Rust toolchain

    **Installation:**

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Ubuntu/Debian
    sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libssl-dev

    # Fedora
    sudo dnf install gcc gcc-c++ make pkg-config openssl-devel

    # Install Rust
    curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
    ```

    **For packaging:**

    * Flatpak: `flatpak-builder` for building Flatpak packages
    * Snap: `snapcraft` for building snap packages
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

**Electron version:** 39.2.6 (specified in package.json)

**System resources:**

* **Memory:** 4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB recommended
* **Disk space:** \~3 GB for dependencies and build artifacts

### Web vault

**Development server requirements:**

* **Node.js:** 22.12.0+ (see universal requirements)
* **npm:** 10.x (see universal requirements)
* **Memory:** 4 GB RAM minimum (webpack dev server)
* **Disk space:** \~1.5 GB for dependencies

**Browser for testing:**

* Chrome/Firefox/Safari/Edge (latest versions)
* Modern browser with ES2016+ support

**Development:**

```bash theme={null}
cd apps/web
npm run build:oss:watch  # Development server
# Serves at http://localhost:8080
```

### Command-line interface

**Runtime requirements:**

* **Node.js:** 22.12.0+ for development
* **For distribution:** Packaged binaries have no Node.js requirement

**Build requirements:**

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Development build">
    Only requires Node.js and npm:

    ```bash theme={null}
    cd apps/cli
    npm run build:oss
    node build/bw.js --help
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Native executables">
    Uses `@yao-pkg/pkg` to create standalone executables:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Windows
    npm run dist:oss:win  # Creates dist/oss/windows/bw.exe

    # macOS (x64)
    npm run dist:oss:mac  # Creates dist/oss/macos/bw

    # macOS (ARM64)
    npm run dist:oss:mac-arm64

    # Linux (x64)
    npm run dist:oss:lin  # Creates dist/oss/linux/bw

    # Linux (ARM64)
    npm run dist:oss:lin-arm64
    ```

    No additional runtime dependencies.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Development tools

### Recommended

While not strictly required, these tools significantly improve the development experience:

**Code editor:**

* **Visual Studio Code** (recommended) - Repository includes VS Code configuration
  * Extensions: ESLint, Prettier, Angular Language Service
  * Workspace file: `clients.code-workspace`

**Version control:**

* **Git client** - Command line or GUI (GitKraken, GitHub Desktop, etc.)

**Build tools:**

* **Nx Console** - VS Code extension for running Nx commands
* **concurrently** - Included in devDependencies for parallel builds

### Optional

These tools are helpful for specific tasks:

**Docker:**

* For testing self-hosted web vault deployments
* Not required for development

**Package managers (CLI distribution):**

* **Homebrew** (macOS/Linux) - For testing CLI installation
* **Chocolatey** (Windows) - For testing CLI installation
* **Snap** (Linux) - For testing snap package

## System resources

### Minimum requirements

* **CPU:** Dual-core processor
* **Memory:** 8 GB RAM
* **Disk:** 10 GB free space (for all apps + dependencies)
* **Internet:** Required for downloading dependencies

### Recommended

* **CPU:** Quad-core processor or better
* **Memory:** 16 GB RAM (for running multiple apps simultaneously)
* **Disk:** 20 GB free space (SSD recommended for faster builds)
* **Internet:** Broadband connection

## Verification

Run these commands to verify your environment:

```bash theme={null}
# Check Node.js version
node --version
# Expected: v22.12.0 or higher

# Check npm version
npm --version
# Expected: 10.x.x

# Check Git
git --version
# Expected: Any recent version

# For desktop development - check Rust (if installed)
rustc --version
# Expected: 1.70.0 or higher

# Check Python (for node-gyp on Windows)
python --version
# Expected: 3.x.x
```

## Troubleshooting

### Node version issues

<Warning>
  If you see errors about Node.js version, ensure you're using Node.js 22.12.0 or later.
</Warning>

```bash theme={null}
# Using nvm (recommended)
nvm install 22
nvm use 22

# Verify
node --version
```

### Native module build errors

If you encounter errors building native modules:

```bash theme={null}
# Rebuild native modules
cd apps/desktop
npm run postinstall

# Or rebuild manually
npx electron-rebuild
```

### Memory errors during build

If builds fail with out-of-memory errors:

```bash theme={null}
# Increase Node.js memory limit (already set in scripts)
# The browser build uses: --max-old-space-size=8192
# If still failing, close other applications
```

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Installation" icon="download" href="/setup/installation">
    Clone the repository and install dependencies
  </Card>

  <Card title="Building" icon="hammer" href="/setup/building">
    Build and run the applications
  </Card>
</CardGroup>