{"id":18039,"library":"invisible-framework","title":"The Invisible Framework","description":"The Invisible Framework (current stable v1.26.10) is an opinionated, CLI-driven web application framework designed to rapidly scaffold and manage full-stack JavaScript projects. It provides a structured approach from an empty directory to a production environment, automating common setup tasks like Git, npm initialization, and configuring essential development tools such as Babel, ESLint, Webpack, and Express. It enforces a `client/` directory for UI code and a `config.js` for environment settings, aiming to streamline development and deployment processes for Node.js (v6+) and npm (v3+) based applications. The framework emphasizes convention over configuration, abstracting away many underlying build processes.","status":"active","version":"1.26.10","language":"javascript","source_language":"en","source_url":"https://github.com/justinsisley/Invisible-Framework","tags":["javascript"],"install":[{"cmd":"npm install invisible-framework","lang":"bash","label":"npm"},{"cmd":"yarn add invisible-framework","lang":"bash","label":"yarn"},{"cmd":"pnpm add invisible-framework","lang":"bash","label":"pnpm"}],"dependencies":[],"imports":[],"quickstart":{"code":"mkdir my-project && cd my-project\nnpm init -y\nnpm i -S invisible-framework\nmkdir client\ntouch client/index.js\n\n# Open client/index.js and add the following content:\n// console.log('I am alive');\n\n# Then, from your terminal:\nnpm start\n\n# Open your browser to http://localhost:3325 and check the console.","lang":"javascript","description":"This quickstart initializes a new project, installs the Invisible Framework CLI, creates the required client-side entry point, and starts the development server, demonstrating basic application setup and client-side logging."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Ensure your Node.js installation is at least 6.3.0 and your NPM version is 3 or higher. Use `node -v` and `npm -v` to check, and upgrade if necessary.","message":"The Invisible Framework has specific runtime requirements: Node.js v6.3.0 or higher and NPM v3 or higher. Running with older versions may lead to unexpected errors or installation failures.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":"<=1.26.10"},{"fix":"Review generated files and `package.json` changes after installation. If you have custom configurations, merge them carefully. Consider committing your project before running `npm i -S invisible-framework`.","message":"Upon installation, the framework automatically modifies your `package.json` to include its commands and generates several configuration files (e.g., `.editorconfig`, `.eslintrc`, `.gitignore`, `config.js`). Be aware that existing files with the same names might be overwritten or patched.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=1.0.0"},{"fix":"Always place your UI code within the `client/` directory and ensure `client/index.js` exists as your application's primary entry file. Refer to the demo application for guidance on internal client directory structure.","message":"The framework imposes a strict directory structure, expecting client-side UI code to reside within a `client/` directory and `client/index.js` to serve as the main JavaScript entry point. Deviating from this structure will prevent the build process from locating your application files.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=1.0.0"},{"fix":"Focus on using the `invisible-framework` CLI and the npm scripts it provides. Avoid attempting direct programmatic `import { ... } from 'invisible-framework'` statements in your application code unless explicitly documented.","message":"The Invisible Framework is primarily a CLI-driven tool. Developers typically interact with it via command-line commands (e.g., `invisible-framework create`) or npm scripts (e.g., `npm start`) rather than by importing modules directly from the `invisible-framework` package into their application code.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=1.0.0"}],"env_vars":null,"last_verified":"2026-04-25T00:00:00.000Z","next_check":"2026-07-24T00:00:00.000Z","problems":[{"fix":"Create the `client` directory and the `index.js` file within it: `mkdir client && touch client/index.js`.","cause":"The framework's build process cannot find the required client-side entry point file at `client/index.js`.","error":"Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, stat 'client/index.js'"},{"fix":"Check your `package.json` to ensure the `scripts.start` entry is present. If it's missing, try reinstalling the framework (`npm i -S invisible-framework`) to regenerate the default scripts, or manually add the `start` script as per the framework's documentation.","cause":"The `start` script, which the Invisible Framework typically injects into `package.json` to run the development server, is either missing or has been removed.","error":"npm ERR! missing script: start"},{"fix":"Upgrade your Node.js installation to version 6.3.0 or newer. Consider using a Node Version Manager (NVM) like `nvm` to easily switch and update Node.js versions.","cause":"The current Node.js version installed on your system does not meet the minimum requirement specified by the Invisible Framework.","error":"Minimum Node.js version 6.3.0 required. You are running X.Y.Z."}],"ecosystem":"npm","meta_description":null,"install_score":null,"install_tag":null,"quickstart_score":null,"quickstart_tag":null}