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Building Jan from Source

For developers who want to build Jan from source or contribute to the project, this guide covers everything you need to get started.

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Prerequisites

Before building Jan, ensure you have the following installed:
  • Node.js ≥ 20.0.0
  • Yarn ≥ 1.22.0
  • Make ≥ 3.81
  • Rust (for Tauri backend)

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Platform-Specific Requirements

For macOS universal builds, you’ll need:
rustup target add x86_64-apple-darwin
rustup target add aarch64-apple-darwin
For iOS development:
xcode-select --install
rustup target add aarch64-apple-ios
rustup target add aarch64-apple-ios-sim
rustup target add x86_64-apple-ios

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Quick Start with Make

The easiest way to build and run Jan: 
git clone https://github.com/janhq/jan
cd jan
make dev
This single command handles everything:
  • Installs all dependencies
  • Builds Tauri plugin APIs
  • Builds core components
  • Builds extensions
  • Downloads required binaries
  • Launches the development environment

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Available Make Targets

Jan uses a Makefile to simplify common development tasks:

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Development

make dev                    # Full development setup and launch
make dev-web-app           # Run web app only (without Tauri)
make dev-android           # Android development mode
make dev-ios               # iOS development mode (macOS only)

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Building

make build                 # Production build for current platform
make build-web-app        # Build web application
make build-cli            # Build Jan CLI (release)
make build-cli-dev        # Build Jan CLI (debug, faster)
make build-mlx-server     # Build MLX server (macOS Apple Silicon only)

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Testing & Linting

make test                  # Run all tests (TypeScript + Rust)
make lint                  # Run linters

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Cleanup

make clean                 # Delete all build artifacts and dependencies
make clean removes node_modules, build folders, and caches. You’ll need to run make dev again after cleaning.

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Manual Build Commands

If you prefer more control over the build process:

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Install Dependencies

yarn install

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Build Core Components

yarn build:tauri:plugin:api  # Build Tauri plugin APIs
yarn build:core              # Build core SDK
yarn build:extensions        # Build all extensions

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Run Development Server

yarn dev                     # Start Tauri app in dev mode
yarn dev:web                 # Start web app only

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Production Builds

yarn build                   # Full production build
yarn build:web              # Build web application
yarn build:tauri            # Build Tauri application

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Platform-Specific Builds

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macOS Universal Build

yarn build:tauri:darwin
Creates a universal binary that runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

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Windows Build

yarn build:tauri:win32

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Linux Build

yarn build:tauri:linux
Produces both .deb and .AppImage packages.

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Mobile Development

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Android

make dev-android
This will:
  • Install Android Rust targets
  • Initialize Android app (if needed)
  • Set up Android environment
  • Start development server

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iOS

make dev-ios
Requirements:
  • macOS only
  • Xcode command line tools
  • iOS simulators installed

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Testing

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Run All Tests

yarn test                    # TypeScript tests
cd src-tauri && cargo test  # Rust tests
cd autoqa && python main.py # End-to-end tests

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Watch Mode

yarn test:watch             # Run tests in watch mode
yarn test:ui                # Run tests with UI
yarn test:coverage          # Generate coverage report

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Project Structure

Understanding the codebase structure: 
jan/
├── web-app/              # React frontend
├── src-tauri/            # Rust backend
│   ├── src/core/         # Core Tauri commands
│   └── plugins/          # Tauri plugins
├── core/                 # TypeScript SDK
├── extensions/           # JavaScript extensions
├── docs/                 # Documentation
├── scripts/              # Build utilities
├── package.json          # Root workspace config
└── Makefile              # Build automation

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Troubleshooting

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Build Failures

Check your versions: 
node --version   # Should be ≥ 20.0.0
yarn --version   # Should be ≥ 1.22.0
rustc --version  # Should be installed
Clean and rebuild: 
make clean
make dev

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Extensions Not Loading

Verify extensions are properly built: 
ls -la pre-install/*.tgz
Rebuild extensions: 
yarn build:extensions

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Common Issues

Make build scripts executable:
chmod +x src-tauri/build-utils/*
Install required targets for your platform:
make install-rust-targets      # macOS
make install-android-rust-targets  # Android
make install-ios-rust-targets      # iOS
MLX server only builds on macOS Apple Silicon:
  • Ensure you’re on macOS
  • Check Swift is installed: swift --version
  • Requires Xcode or Xcode command line tools

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Getting Help

If you encounter issues:
  1. Check the troubleshooting docs
  2. Search GitHub Issues
  3. Ask in Discord #🆘|jan-help channel
  4. Review the Contributing Guide

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Next Steps

Contributing Guide

Learn how to contribute code to Jan

Core Library

Understand Jan’s core library and architecture

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

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