OpenFront.io is an online real-time strategy game focused on territorial control and alliance building. Players compete to expand their territory, build structures, and form strategic alliances in various maps based on real-world geography.
This is a fork/rewrite of WarFront.io. Credit to https://github.com/WarFrontIO.
License
OpenFront source code is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
Current copyright notices appear in:
- Footer: "© OpenFront and Contributors"
- Loading screen: "© OpenFront and Contributors"
Modified versions must preserve these notices in reasonably visible locations.
See the LICENSE for complete requirements.
For asset licensing, see LICENSE-ASSETS.
For license history, see LICENSING.md.
🌟 Features
- Real-time Strategy Gameplay: Expand your territory and engage in strategic battles
- Alliance System: Form alliances with other players for mutual defense
- Multiple Maps: Play across various geographical regions including Europe, Asia, Africa, and more
- Resource Management: Balance your expansion with defensive capabilities
- Cross-platform: Play in any modern web browser
📋 Prerequisites
- Node.js v24.15.0 or newer in the Node 24 release line
- npm v12.1.0 or newer in the npm 12 release line
- A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.)
Node.js may bundle an older npm version. Upgrade it before installing project dependencies:
npm install --global --ignore-scripts [email protected]
🚀 Installation
-
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO.git
cd OpenFrontIO
-
Install dependencies
npm run inst
Do NOT use npm install nor npm i for project dependencies. Use npm run inst; it runs the safer npm ci --ignore-scripts to install exactly the versions in package-lock.json without running lifecycle scripts.
The repository also rejects dependency releases less than seven days old and dependencies sourced from Git, remote URLs, local tarballs, or directories. Wait until a new release passes the seven-day window before updating it; security exceptions require explicit maintainer review.
🎮 Running the Game
Development Mode
Run both the client and server in development mode with live reloading:
npm run dev
This will:
- Start the webpack dev server for the client
- Launch the game server with development settings
- Open the game in your default browser (to disable this behavior, set
SKIP_BROWSER_OPEN=true in your environment)
Client Only
To run just the client with hot reloading:
npm run start:client
Server Only
To run just the server with development settings:
npm run start:server-dev
Connecting to staging or production backends
Sometimes it's useful to connect to production servers when replaying a game, testing user profiles, purchases, or login flow.
To replay a production game, make sure you're on the same commit that the game you want to replay was executed on, you can find the gitCommit value via https://api.openfront.io/game/[gameId].
Unfinished games cannot be replayed on localhost.
To connect to staging api servers:
npm run dev:staging
To connect to production api servers:
npm run dev:prod
🛠️ Development Tools
🏗️ Project Structure
/src/client - Frontend game client/src/server - Backend game server/packages/engine - Deterministic game simulation (@openfront/engine)/packages/engine-api - The engine's contract: types, schemas, game updates and the worker protocol (@openfront/engine-api)/packages/engine-lib - Engine code also used outside the engine: map grid, rules, helpers (@openfront/engine-lib)/packages/shared - Code shared by client and server: wire schemas, env, asset URLs (@openfront/shared)/packages/zbin - Compact binary wire format for zod schemas (self-contained, zod-only)/resources - Static assets (images, maps, etc.)
🤝 Contributing
Contributions and translations are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for the workflow, the approved-issue process, project governance, and translation info.
