No such file or directory, open '/Users/Shared/CODE_LOCAL/PROOFKIT/DOCS-V1/.env'

MichaelW · July 23, 2025, 7:27pm

Please consider the following experience with ProofKit - might meed a bit of QA testing here and there- need more specific information on how to manage the OTTO-API_KEY in the.env - *for people who are not working at ProofGiest

ProofKit Setup Report & Solutions

Date: July 23, 2025

Issue: pnpm create proofkit@latest command fails with multiple errors

Status: RESOLVED (with working FileMaker CLI access)

Final Solution Summary

The key breakthrough: ProofKit CLI version @latest (1.1.7) is broken, but version 1.1.6 works perfectly including FileMaker database integration!

Quick Fix for Working ProofKit CLI:


pnpm remove @proofkit/cli

pnpm add -D @proofkit/cli@1.1.6

pnpm proofkit # Now works with interactive menu!

Result: Full access to FileMaker database connectors via “Add Components” menu

Problem Summary

The standard ProofKit installation command pnpm create proofkit@latest failed with several dependency and configuration issues that prevented the project from running properly.

Root Causes Identified

1. ProofKit CLI Binary Missing

Error: ENOENT: Command failed with ENOENT: proofkit init
Cause: The @proofkit/cli package was missing its compiled dist/index.js file
Impact: The create command couldn’t execute the initialization process

2. pnpm Global Configuration

Error: Unable to find the global bin directory
Cause: pnpm wasn’t properly configured for global packages after Homebrew installation
Impact: Global package installations and CLI tools weren’t working

3. Missing Tailwind CSS Dependencies

Error: Cannot find module '@tailwindcss/postcss'
Cause: Core Tailwind CSS packages were missing from the template
Impact: All CSS compilation failed, breaking the UI

4. Missing Animation Library

Error: Can't resolve 'tw-animate-css'
Cause: Animation dependency not included in base template
Impact: Advanced UI animations wouldn’t work

Solutions Applied

Step 1: Fix pnpm Global Setup


pnpm setup

source ~/.zshrc

Result: Configured pnpm global bin directory and updated PATH

Step 2: Manual Template Installation

Since the CLI was broken, we bypassed it:


# Copy template manually from the installed CLI package

cp -r /path/to/@proofkit/cli/template/nextjs/* ./

mv _gitignore .gitignore

Result: Got a working ProofKit project structure

Step 3: Install Missing Dependencies


pnpm install # Install base dependencies

pnpm add -D tailwindcss @tailwindcss/postcss # Fix CSS compilation

pnpm add -D tw-animate-css # Fix animations

Result: All dependencies properly installed

Step 4: Approve Build Scripts


pnpm approve-builds

# Select: @tailwindcss/oxide, esbuild

Result: Build tools properly configured

Step 5: Restart Development Server


pkill -f "next dev" # Stop old server

pnpm dev # Start fresh

Result: Server running successfully at http://localhost:3000

Final Working Configuration

Dependencies Added


{

"devDependencies": {

"tailwindcss": "^4.1.11",

"@tailwindcss/postcss": "4.1.11",

"tw-animate-css": "1.3.5"

}

}

Project Structure


/Users/Shared/CODE_LOCAL/PROOFKIT/START-DOCS/ # ✅ Working Template

├── README.md

├── .gitignore # ✅ Fixed from _gitignore

├── components.json

├── next.config.ts

├── package.json

├── postcss.config.cjs

├── proofkit.json

├── public/

├── src/

├── tsconfig.json

└── iterations/ # 📁 This documentation

└── proofkit-setup-report.md

Template Usage Instructions

This project folder (START-DOCS) is now the recommended working template with stable ProofKit CLI v1.1.6 and FileMaker integration access.

Method 1: Copy This Working Template (Recommended)


# Copy this entire working project

cp -r /Users/Shared/CODE_LOCAL/PROOFKIT/START-DOCS /path/to/new-project

cd /path/to/new-project

pnpm install

pnpm proofkit # Test that CLI works

pnpm dev

Method 2: If CLI is Fixed Later

If the ProofKit CLI gets updated and works properly:


pnpm create proofkit@latest

# If it fails, fall back to Method 1 above

Template Features:

Working ProofKit CLI v1.1.6 with FileMaker integration
All dependencies properly configured
Mantine UI + Next.js + TypeScript + Tailwind
Development server ready
Interactive pnpm proofkit menu functional

Verification Checklist

Before considering a ProofKit project ready ( All verified for this template):

pnpm dev starts without errors
No CSS compilation errors in terminal
Application loads at http://localhost:3000
No 500 errors in browser
Mantine UI components render properly
Tailwind CSS classes work
Animations function correctly
pnpm proofkit CLI works with interactive menu
FileMaker database connectors accessible
Environment variables (.env file) configured

Environment Variables Setup

.env File Configuration

The ProofKit project requires a .env file in the project root. The proofkit.json configuration specifies "envFile": ".env", but this file is not automatically created during setup.

Issue: Missing .env file caused runtime errors:


Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, open '/Users/Shared/CODE_LOCAL/PROOFKIT/DOCS-V1/.env'

Solution: Create .env file with required environment variables:


# Create .env file in project root

touch .env

Current Environment Variables:


# Environment variables for PROOFKIT DOCS-V1

NODE_ENV=development

# FileMaker Database Configuration

FM_DATABASE=<redacted>.fmp12

FM_SERVER=https://<redacted>

# API Keys

OTTO_API_KEY=<redacted>

Notes:

The .env file is correctly included in .gitignore for security
Each developer needs to create their own local .env file
The NODE_ENV=development variable matches the configuration in src/config/env.ts
Additional environment variables can be added as needed for specific integrations

Environment Details

OS: macOS
Shell: zsh
pnpm: 10.13.1
Node.js: v20.18.0
Next.js: 15.4.3 (Turbopack)
ProofKit CLI: @proofkit/cli@1.1.6 (1.1.7 is broken)

Known Issues & Workarounds

ProofKit CLI Version Issue (`@latest` is broken)

Issue: ProofKit CLI version 1.1.7 (@latest) has missing build artifacts (dist/index.js file missing)

Solution: Use version 1.1.6 instead:


pnpm remove @proofkit/cli

pnpm add -D @proofkit/cli@1.1.6

Result: pnpm proofkit now works perfectly with interactive menu

Note: FileMaker database connectors are accessible through the “Add Components” menu

Console Ninja Warnings


✘ next.js v15.4.3 is not yet supported in the Community edition of Console Ninja

Impact: None - just warnings, doesn’t affect functionality

ProofKit CLI Commands Not Working (`pnpm proofkit`)


> template@0.1.0 proofkit /Users/Shared/CODE_LOCAL/PROOFKIT/START-DOCS

> proofkit --help

sh: proofkit: command not found

ELIFECYCLE Command failed.

Cause: This only affects version 1.1.7 (@latest) - the package has missing build artifacts (dist/index.js file missing)

Solution: Use version 1.1.6 instead (see above)

Impact: With version 1.1.6, all ProofKit CLI commands work including FileMaker database integration

Package Distribution Issues

The @proofkit/cli package has missing build artifacts. This appears to be a packaging issue from the ProofKit maintainers.

Workaround: Use manual template copying as documented above.

FAQ & Common Issues

Q: What is `pnpm proofkit` supposed to do?

A: According to ProofKit documentation, the pnpm proofkit command is an interactive CLI tool that guides you through adding additional features and pages to your project. It’s designed to help you:

Add new components
Add new pages/routes
Configure authentication
Add database integrations
Generate type-safe APIs
Deploy your application

However, this functionality is currently unavailable due to the CLI packaging issue.

Q: Does changing the project directory name break ProofKit CLI?

A: No, the directory name change from STARTINGPOINT to START-DOCS does not cause the pnpm proofkit command failures. The issue is the same CLI binary missing problem documented in this report. The ProofKit CLI has a packaging issue where the dist/index.js file is missing, which affects all ProofKit projects regardless of directory name.

Q: What ProofKit commands should work?

A: With version 1.1.6 (working version):

pnpm proofkit - Interactive feature wizard (works perfectly!)
pnpm typegen - Type generation (works)
pnpm deploy - Deployment helper (works)
pnpm dev - Development server (works perfectly - Next.js)
pnpm build - Production build (works perfectly - Next.js)
pnpm start - Production server (works perfectly - Next.js)

Note: Only version 1.1.7 (@latest) is broken - use 1.1.6 instead

Q: Can I still develop with ProofKit?

A: Yes! The web application itself works perfectly. The missing CLI tools don’t affect the core functionality of your ProofKit application. You can develop, build, and deploy using standard Next.js workflows.

Q: How can I access FileMaker database connectors?

A: With ProofKit CLI version 1.1.6 working, you can now access FileMaker integration through:


pnpm proofkit

# Select: "Add Components"

# This will show options for FileMaker data sources and schema generation

The interactive CLI provides full access to ProofKit’s FileMaker database connectivity features.

Q: How can I add features without the ProofKit CLI?

A: While the ProofKit CLI is unavailable, you can still build a full-featured application using:

Manual component creation: Create React components in src/components/
Standard Next.js patterns: Use Next.js App Router for pages and routing
Mantine UI components: The full Mantine library is available for UI components
TypeScript: Full TypeScript support is working
Tailwind CSS: All styling capabilities are functional
Manual API routes: Create API endpoints using Next.js API routes

The ProofKit foundation (Mantine + Next.js + TypeScript + Tailwind) provides everything needed for development - the CLI is just a convenience tool for scaffolding.

Contact & Updates

This report was generated during the initial setup process. If ProofKit releases updates that fix the CLI issues, this template may become unnecessary, but it serves as a reliable fallback.

Last Updated: July 23, 2025

Status: Production Ready Template (with FileMaker CLI access)

Template Location: /Users/Shared/CODE_LOCAL/PROOFKIT/START-DOCS/.

eric.luce · July 23, 2025, 8:40pm

Thanks for the report! Version 1.1.7 was actually just published incorrectly which seems to be the cause of the issues. I’ve unpublished it until the next version is ready, so pnpm create proofkit will now correctly run with 1.1.6.

I’m not sure I understand your question about the OTTO_API_KEY. It seems that you were able to get it setup correctly; or was there some confusion?

MichaelW · July 24, 2025, 9:09am

Hi Eric, Many thanks for your quick response, that is very much appreciated. yes the .env issue was figured out by AI (not sure where it found the info) - but this is the page I was relying on. - Deployment notice it does not really help, or provide any further information or links.

OK about 1.1.7, well AI could not fix it, but 1.1.6 was OK, please note that your videos say always use @latest - so it did kick my confidence level in terms of first impressions.

eric.luce · July 24, 2025, 1:56pm

Did you run into any errors with the deploy command? I will work on adding more details to that page, but basically your initial credentials are created in an .env file by the init command when you start up a new project. It’s how the web app knows which server, file and password to get the data from.

Since this file contains secrets, it’s excluded from source control and therefore Vercel. But since Vercel needs to know how to connect to your server in order to run your app, they have a special way of providing these secrets. The proofkit deploy command should sets all this up for you though

MichaelW · July 24, 2025, 6:00pm

Hi Eric : Had no trouble with deployment once I had the .env sussed. Might help folks if you put the .env magic potion into the mainstream getting started docs.

MichaelW · August 8, 2025, 2:21pm

Hi Eric, I tried with @latest recently and the issues I reported have not re-occurred. I assume that the @latest has been re-built.?.

eric.luce · August 8, 2025, 2:34pm

somewhat, yes. “latest” just re-points to 1.1.6, since 1.1.7 was published as an empty package unintentionally.