Limitations

Startpod is designed for interactive development projects, not arbitrary desktop workloads.

Runtime boundaries

• A page can have one live pod.
• Files are limited to 1 MiB each.
• CPU-heavy work still consumes browser resources.
• Process signals, permissions, PTY behavior, and operating-system APIs are not complete POSIX implementations.
• Native Node.js addons cannot run as desktop binaries in the browser.
• Package compatibility depends on the Node APIs and install behavior each package uses.

Service Worker ownership

Startpod's managed preview uses a separate origin. If you explicitly opt into same-origin previews for trusted code, Startpod uses a root-scoped Service Worker. It will not replace a worker already owned by your application.

Network boundaries

• Browser CORS rules apply to direct requests.
• Requests blocked by browser CORS rules need to go through your application's backend.
• Use public npm packages. Private and authenticated registries are not supported.

API compatibility boundaries

Some compatibility hooks accept calls without providing the corresponding behavior:

• preview-message listeners can register but do not receive events.
• xdg-open and code listeners can register but are not emitted.
• forwardPreviewErrors is accepted but is not a complete error-forwarding channel.
• Authentication and license helpers do not reproduce a hosted account service.

Use the API reference to check the methods and events available to your integration.