RuneWeb: The Ultimate Guide to Getting StartedRuneWeb is an emerging web development framework designed to make building fast, secure, and maintainable websites simpler. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to start using RuneWeb — from installation and core concepts to building your first project, deployment options, and best practices.
What is RuneWeb?
RuneWeb is a modern web framework that blends component-driven development, server-rendered performance, and a strong focus on developer experience. It aims to reduce boilerplate, streamline routing and data fetching, and provide secure defaults so you can ship reliable sites faster.
Key design goals:
- Performance-first rendering with hybrid SSR/ISR options.
- Component-based architecture inspired by popular UI libraries.
- Integrated data layer to simplify server/client data flow.
- Security and sensible defaults (CSRF protection, input validation).
- Flexible deployment to static hosts, serverless platforms, or traditional servers.
Why choose RuneWeb?
Choose RuneWeb if you want:
- Fast time-to-first-byte and excellent SEO via server rendering.
- A unified model for building UI and handling data without lots of custom wiring.
- A small but expressive API surface that’s easy to learn.
- Extensible tooling and a plugin system for workflows like CMS integration, analytics, and image optimization.
Core concepts
- Components: Reusable UI units (can be server or client components).
- Pages & Routes: Files or components mapped to URL paths.
- Layouts: Shared structures for pages (headers, footers, nav).
- Data endpoints: Server-side functions for fetching or mutating data.
- Rendering modes:
- SSR (Server-Side Rendering): full page render on the server per request.
- ISR (Incremental Static Regeneration): pre-rendered pages rebuilt on demand.
- SSG (Static Site Generation): full static export at build time.
- Middleware: Request/response hooks for auth, logging, redirects.
Getting started — Installation
Prerequisites:
- Node.js 18+ (LTS recommended)
- Git
Create a new RuneWeb project (example CLI):
npx runeweb@latest init my-site cd my-site npm install npm run dev This scaffolds a starter site with example pages, a component library, and a simple data endpoint.
Project structure (typical)
- /app
- /components — shared UI components
- /layouts — top-level layouts
- /pages — route components (file-based routing)
- /api — server endpoints
- /public — static assets
- /rune.config.js — project configuration
- /package.json
Building your first page
Create a file at app/pages/about.rw.jsx:
import Layout from '../layouts/MainLayout.rw.jsx'; export default function About() { return ( <Layout> <h1>About RuneWeb</h1> <p>RuneWeb is a modern web framework focused on performance and DX.</p> </Layout> ); } Add a route-aware link in your navigation:
import Link from 'runeweb/link'; export default function Nav() { return ( <nav> <Link href="/">Home</Link> <Link href="/about">About</Link> </nav> ); } Data fetching and API endpoints
Server endpoints live under app/api. Example: app/api/posts.get.rw.js
// app/api/posts.get.rw.js import { db } from '../../lib/db'; export async function GET() { const posts = await db.query('SELECT id, title FROM posts'); return new Response(JSON.stringify(posts), { status: 200 }); } Client component fetching data:
import useSWR from 'swr'; export default function PostsList() { const { data, error } = useSWR('/api/posts', (url) => fetch(url).then(r => r.json())); if (error) return <div>Error loading posts</div>; if (!data) return <div>Loading...</div>; return <ul>{data.map(p => <li key={p.id}>{p.title}</li>)}</ul>; } RuneWeb also supports server components that can fetch data directly during SSR without client fetches.
Authentication & Security
RuneWeb provides middleware hooks to add authentication to protected routes. Example pattern:
- /app/middleware/auth.rw.js checks session tokens and redirects unauthenticated users.
- Use secure HttpOnly cookies and server-side session stores for best security.
Built-in protections:
- CSRF tokens for state-changing requests.
- Input validation utilities to avoid injection attacks.
- Content Security Policy support via config.
Styling and assets
RuneWeb is unopinionated about styling. Common options:
- CSS Modules
- Tailwind CSS (works with postcss plugin)
- Styled components or other CSS-in-JS
Static assets go in /public and are served with proper caching headers via platform adapters.
Testing
- Unit tests: Jest or Vitest supported.
- End-to-end: Playwright or Cypress recommended.
- Use rune.config to set up test runners and coverage thresholds.
Performance optimization
- Use server components for heavy data rendering.
- Enable ISR for pages that change infrequently.
- Lazy-load client components where interactivity isn’t needed at first paint.
- Use built-in image optimizer plugin (or external CDN) for responsive images.
Deployment
RuneWeb supports multiple adapters:
- Static export for CDN hosts (Netlify, Vercel static).
- Serverless functions (Vercel, Netlify Functions, Cloudflare Workers).
- Node server on traditional hosts.
Basic build commands:
npm run build npm run start # for server adapter # or deploy the /dist static output for static adapters Ecosystem & plugins
Common plugins:
- CMS connectors (Headless CMS like Strapi, Sanity, Contentful)
- Analytics and Sentry integration
- Image optimization and asset hashing
- Auth providers (OAuth, JWT, magic links)
Best practices
- Prefer server components for SEO-critical content.
- Keep API endpoints narrow and purpose-driven.
- Cache aggressively for public data; use short-lived caches for user-specific data.
- Validate inputs server-side even if client-side validation exists.
Troubleshooting
- Dev server issues: delete node_modules and .rune/cache, then reinstall.
- Routing problems: verify file names under app/pages match expected patterns.
- Build errors: run with RUNE_DEBUG=1 to get extended stack traces.
Further learning
- Official docs (start with “Getting Started” and “Routing” sections).
- Community plugins and example repos.
- Look up deployment adapter docs for platform-specific guidance.
RuneWeb aims to combine the best parts of contemporary web frameworks into a focused, performance-oriented toolchain. With this guide you should be able to scaffold a project, build pages and APIs, and deploy to your chosen platform. Good luck building.
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