copy-of-local-network-dashboard/README.md

Local Network Dashboard

A beautiful, self-hosted dashboard to organize and access all your local network services.

This project consists of two parts:

1. Frontend: A React-based dashboard that runs in your browser.
2. Backend: A Node.js server that you run locally to perform network scans.

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Running the Application

1. Prerequisites

Before you start, you need to have Nmap installed on the computer where you will run the backend server. Nmap is a powerful network scanning tool that the backend uses to discover services.

• macOS (using Homebrew):

  brew install nmap
  

• Debian/Ubuntu:

  sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install nmap
  

• Windows: Download the installer from the official Nmap website.

You also need Node.js installed to run the backend server.

2. Running the Backend Server

The backend server is responsible for scanning your network and finding services.

1. Navigate to the server directory:

   cd server
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Start the server:

   node server.js
   

The server will start and listen on port 3001. You should see a message Backend server running on http://localhost:3001. Keep this terminal window open.

3. Running the Frontend

The frontend is the visual dashboard you interact with. Simply open the index.html file in your web browser.

• Once the dashboard is open, click the "Scan Network" button.
• Enter your network range (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24).
• Click "Start Scan".

The frontend will contact your running backend server, which will perform the nmap scan and return the discovered services to be automatically added to your dashboard.