feat(create): scaffold backend-and-client with the editor-app client convention

[davidsu]

Note

Description

The backend-and-client scaffold now follows the same client convention that editor-created apps use, so a CLI-created app and an editor-created app share one frontend wiring story. Instead of baking the app id into src/api/base44Client.js at scaffold time, the template resolves app params (app id, access token, functions version, app base url) at runtime and talks to the backend over same-origin /api via @base44/vite-plugin. Under base44 dev the plugin proxies /api to the local dev backend, so scaffolded apps get local entities and functions out of the box.

Related Issue

None

Type of Change

• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
• Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
• Documentation update
• Refactoring (no functional changes)
• Other (please describe): template + template-dependency change; affects newly scaffolded projects only, existing projects are untouched

Changes Made

• src/api/base44Client.js - replaced the EJS-templated client (base44Client.js.ejs, which inlined appId: <%= projectId %>) with a static file that builds the client from appParams: serverUrl: "" (same-origin /api), requiresAuth: false, plus appId / token / functionsVersion / appBaseUrl. The app id is no longer written into source - it resolves from env or base44/.app.jsonc.
• src/lib/app-params.js (new) - resolves each app param from URL query string -> localStorage -> Vite env default (VITE_BASE44_APP_ID, VITE_BASE44_FUNCTIONS_VERSION, VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL), strips access_token from the URL after reading it, caches values under base44_* keys, and clears the stored token when clear_access_token=true. Guarded for non-browser (typeof window === "undefined") evaluation.
• vite.config.js - added @base44/vite-plugin to the plugin list and dropped the hand-rolled @ -> ./src alias and the path import; the plugin supplies the alias and the /api dev proxy (jsconfig.json already declares @/* for editors).
• package.json - bumped @base44/sdk ^0.8.3 -> ^0.8.40 and added @base44/vite-plugin ^1.0.30.
• packages/cli/tests/cli/create.spec.ts - new integration test asserting a scaffolded backend-and-client project has serverUrl: "" and the @/lib/app-params import, does not contain the app id in base44Client.js, ships src/lib/app-params.js referencing the VITE_BASE44_* vars, wires @base44/vite-plugin in vite.config.js, and still writes the app id into base44/.app.jsonc.
• CHANGELOG.md - added a ### Changed entry describing the new template convention.

Testing

• I have tested these changes locally
• I have added/updated tests as needed
• All tests pass (npm test)

Checklist

• My code follows the project's style guidelines
• I have performed a self-review of my own code
• I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
• I have made corresponding changes to the documentation (if applicable)
• My changes generate no new warnings
• I have updated docs/ (AGENTS.md) if I made architectural changes

Additional Notes

• base44 dev already injects VITE_BASE44_APP_ID and VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL into the frontend serveCommand (packages/cli/src/cli/dev/dev-server/main.ts), which is what the new app-params.js defaults read - the two halves line up. base44 eject also writes VITE_BASE44_APP_ID.
• requiresAuth: false keeps the scaffold anonymously browsable; apps that need a signed-in user should flip it to true.
• src/lib/app-params.js is intentionally kept close to the editor-app version (tabs, //-style comment in the client) so the two conventions do not drift; it is not reformatted to the CLI repo Biome style.
• The @base44/vite-plugin dependency is a template dependency (installed in scaffolded user projects), not a CLI dependency, so the zero-dependency distribution rule is unaffected.
• No docs/ updates: this changes template contents only, not CLI architecture.
• Verification note: bun run build and the test suite were not executed in this environment (command approval was declined), so the two unchecked Testing boxes reflect what I could confirm from the diff rather than a known failure.

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_{🤖 Generated by Claude | 2026-07-27 11:20 UTC | e827f85}

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