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Running Node.js and Modern Web Development Tools on OpenWrt

#webdev #openwrt #node #react

Prerequisites and Limitations

This guide is specifically for x86 architecture only. On ARM devices, both pnpm and Node.js may fail due to libgcc_s.so.1 dependency issues.

System Configuration

First, configure your build target for musl-based systems:

ei config x86_64-unknown-linux-musl
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Installing Required Dependencies

Install libstdc++

OpenWrt's minimal environment lacks the C++ standard library:

opkg install libstdcpp
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Install Bash

OpenWrt ships with a basic sh shell, but Node.js and pnpm require bash's advanced syntax features.

Download a static bash binary from robxu9/bash-static:

ei robxu9/bash-static
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Replace the default shell symlinks:

which bash
ln -sf /root/.ei/bash /bin/sh
ln -sf /root/.ei/bash /bin/bash
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Installing Node.js

Node.js requires approximately 200MB of storage. On space-constrained OpenWrt devices, install to /tmp:

ei https://unofficial-builds.nodejs.org/download/release/v25.2.1/node-v25.2.1-linux-x64-musl.tar.xz -d /tmp
node --version
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Note: Use the unofficial-builds repository for musl-compatible binaries.

Installing Package Managers and Tools

Install pnpm 

ei pnpm/pnpm
pnpm --version
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Install Git (Gitoxide)

For a lightweight Git implementation:

ei GitoxideLabs/gitoxide
gix --version
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Creating and Running a Vite Project

Now you can use modern web development tools:

# Create a new Vite project
pnpm dlx create-vite

# Navigate to your project
cd react-ts

# Start the development server (accessible from network)
pnpm run dev --host
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The --host flag exposes the dev server to your local network, allowing you to access it from other devices.

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