Map Blueprint

Tier 1 · Quick start

Run Map Blueprint on your own computer

Get the app running on your own computer in just a couple of minutes, perfect for one person or a team on the same network. There's nothing to install and no files to edit: Map Blueprint is a single program you download and double-click, like any other app.

Before you start: unzip the file you downloaded anywhere you like (for example a new MapBlueprint folder inside your Documents). Inside you'll find one program for each kind of computer, use the one that matches yours (Windows, Mac, or Linux) and ignore the rest. Want teammates in other places to reach it over the internet? Use the cloud hosting guide instead.
What actually happens when you run it? Two things start together: a small background program (called the server) that stores your maps and lets people connect, and your web browser, which opens to the app. As long as the server is running, the app works. Closing it stops the app, your saved maps stay safe on your disk.

Windows

1. Start the app

Double-click MapBlueprint.exe. A small black console window opens, that's the server doing its job, so just leave it open. Your browser then opens to the app automatically.

The first time, Windows may show a blue "Windows protected your PC" box because the app isn't from a big-name publisher. Click More info → Run anyway. This is normal for small indie apps and is safe, the app isn't code-signed, that's all.

2. Set a password

On the very first run you'll see a quick Setup screen. Choose a password your team will use to log in (or leave it blank if this is a private computer only you use) and click Save, that's the whole setup.

3. Start mapping

You'll land on your Maps dashboard. Create a map and share its link with teammates on your network. To stop the app later, close the console window; to start it again, double-click the program.

Mac

MapBlueprint-mac runs on every Mac, both Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and older Intel Macs. On Apple Silicon, macOS may offer to install Rosetta the first time, click Install (it's a one-click Apple component that lets the app run).

1. Open it the first time

macOS blocks apps that didn't come from its App Store the first time you open one. To get past this once: right-click (or hold Control and click) the program → Open → Open again in the dialog. After this first time you can just double-click it like any app.

Comfortable with the Terminal (Mac's text-command app)? You can do the same thing by running the three lines below from the folder that holds the program. The first clears the "downloaded from the internet" flag, the second marks the file as runnable, and the third starts it:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ./MapBlueprint-mac
chmod +x ./MapBlueprint-mac
./MapBlueprint-mac

2. Set a password and start mapping

Your browser opens to the first-run Setup screen. Pick a password (or leave it blank) and save, you're mapping. A settings file (config.json) and your maps are created right next to the program.

Linux desktop

Open a terminal in the folder that holds the program. The first command marks the file as runnable; the second starts it. Your browser then opens to the Setup screen.

chmod +x ./map-blueprint-linux
./map-blueprint-linux

Want an always-on Linux server that remote teammates can reach? Follow the cloud hosting guide instead.

Change settings any time

Open the app, go to your Maps page, and click Settings. From there you can change the name, colours, logo, password, port and team size, no files to edit. Look-and-feel changes appear on the next refresh; password and port changes take effect after you restart the program.

Leaving the password blank runs an open instance with no login. Only do that on a private network you trust and control.

Your data and backups

Share it on your local network

To let teammates on the same Wi-Fi or office network open your maps, you first tell the app to accept connections from other computers, by default it only listens to your own. Open Settings, set the Bind address to 0.0.0.0 (in plain English: "accept connections from any computer on my network"), and restart the program. Teammates then reach you at http://YOUR-COMPUTER-IP:8080.

To find your computer's local IP address (a number like 192.168.1.42), run one of these in a terminal:

Set a password in Settings first, otherwise anyone on the network with the link can open your maps.

Let remote teammates in, a free tunnel

Want people outside your network to reach the app while it still runs on your own computer? A tunnel is a small helper that gives your app a public https://… web address, with no router changes, encrypted, and free. The easiest is a Cloudflare Tunnel.

Set a password first. Open Settings and choose a strong password before you open the tunnel, once it's live, anyone with the link can reach the app.

1. Install cloudflared

cloudflared is Cloudflare's free tunnel tool. You install it once:

2. Start Map Blueprint

Run the app as usual and leave it open, it's listening on http://localhost:8080 (localhost just means "this computer"). You can leave the Bind address at its default; the tunnel reaches the app right here on your machine.

3. Open the tunnel

Open a new terminal or PowerShell window (keep the app running in its own window) and run:

cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8080

After a moment it prints a public address like https://random-words.trycloudflare.com. Share that link, teammates open it from anywhere, sign in with your password, and edit live with you. Keep both windows open (the app and the tunnel); closing the tunnel window stops the sharing.

This quick tunnel needs no Cloudflare account, but the address changes each time you restart it. For a permanent address on your own domain, create a free Cloudflare account and set up a named tunnel, the cloud hosting guide shows the same cloudflared setup, and it works the same way pointing at your local PC. For an instance that's always up, even when your computer is off, run it on a small cloud server.

Next → Tier 2 · Advanced guide: host it on a cloud server