Run Strapi in your browser

Tab Desktop starts a Strapi project inside the tab: the content-type builder, the admin panel and the REST API, on the SQLite database Strapi ships with. It is a full instance you can model content in and throw away afterwards. Everything runs inside your browser tab on WebAssembly. There is no server executing your code, no container to wait for, and nothing to install.

Open Tab Desktop →Free · nothing to install

How it works

Node.js-compatible runtime with pnpm, the Strapi server on SQLite, and the admin panel built and served from the tab on a virtual localhost port.

npx -y create-strapi-app@latest app --quickstart --no-run
cd app
npm run develop

What you can do

  • The Strapi admin panel and the content-type builder
  • REST and GraphQL endpoints on the virtual localhost
  • SQLite as the database, as in Strapi's own quickstart
  • Plugins from npm that do not need native add-ons
  • A public URL to call the API from somewhere else

What it does not do

  • The first start builds the admin panel in the tab — expect a few minutes, and a fast machine helps
  • MySQL and Postgres servers are not available; SQLite is the database
  • It is a sandbox: content lives in your browser's storage, not on a server

Start with a preset

One click gives it an isolated desktop: scaffolded, committed to git, open in Tab Code beside Harbor with the dev server running.

Questions

Why does the first start take so long?

Strapi installs a large dependency tree and builds its admin panel on first run. Both happen inside the tab. Later starts skip the build and are much faster.

Can I import my own Strapi project?

Paste its git URL on the front page. It is cloned, dependencies install, and the develop script is offered in Harbor.

Also runs in the tab