# How to open a playtest window? **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [17 June 2026 16:52 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472 "2026-06-17T16:52:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HarveyHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9fc348/32.png) [@HarveyHatter](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/HarveyHatter)\ **Post date:** [17 June 2026 16:52 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/1 "2026-06-17T16:52:41Z")
_How do i open a playtest window in VS Code for the Demo game so i can edit and constantly check?_ I have Windows, seemingly downloaded pnpm in powershell after some struggle and opened a re-named demo in VS Code with the Narrat extension installed. I believe i can edit the script and general game, however i have no way of checking if it works as the localhost did not open in my browser (Microsoft edge) and i prefer to work and save on my computer. Is there another install from VS Code to open a playtest window? (or i step i missed in the instructions? _ **I am completely new to any type of coding/advanced computer stuff.** _ (if you couldn’t already tell from my wording) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/narrat/original/1X/12691fb58ee776f894fd3a6270f79f2a535c81ab.png) ---
**Author:** ![Noph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/narrat.discourse.group/noph/32/476_2.png) [@Noph](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/Noph)\ **Post date:** [18 June 2026 06:10 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/2 "2026-06-18T06:10:57Z")
in the ribbon up high: click on “Terminal” (right of “Run”) then “New terminal” Then in the terminal that opened in the bottom: type `npm start` and enter, then `o` and enter ---
**Author:** ![HarveyHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9fc348/32.png) [@HarveyHatter](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/HarveyHatter)\ **Post date:** [19 June 2026 15:46 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/3 "2026-06-19T15:46:45Z")
Typed npm start in, and received this. I typed in 0 after just in case, but nothing happened. (i have no idea what it means but it doesn’t look correct) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/narrat/original/1X/adf6f98cd45ed60889084193fe4a860fef7338cb.png) ---
**Author:** ![Noph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/narrat.discourse.group/noph/32/476_2.png) [@Noph](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/Noph)\ **Post date:** [19 June 2026 15:59 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/4 "2026-06-19T15:59:23Z")
What do you have in your “The Companions” folder? `public`, `scripts`, `src`, etc.? Or another folder named after your project? ---
**Author:** ![HarveyHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9fc348/32.png) [@HarveyHatter](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/HarveyHatter)\ **Post date:** [19 June 2026 16:49 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/5 "2026-06-19T16:49:52Z")
Here’s everything inside the folder: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/narrat/original/1X/c3bb428ace374f4f11d9ffade6c282bf5e31743e.png) ---
**Author:** ![Noph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/narrat.discourse.group/noph/32/476_2.png) [@Noph](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/Noph)\ **Post date:** [19 June 2026 17:08 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/6 "2026-06-19T17:08:22Z")
Looks correct. Have you followed the steps described [here](https://docs.narrat.dev/guides/getting-started.html)? What did you do besides downloading pnpm? ---
**Author:** ![HarveyHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9fc348/32.png) [@HarveyHatter](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/HarveyHatter)\ **Post date:** [19 June 2026 20:34 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/7 "2026-06-19T20:34:18Z")
Downloaded node.js and made the game file using powershell. Seemingly downloaded pnpm, vs code and the narrat extension. When using powershell to get the local host link, it didn’t work and this idea was my work around. Besides i would prefer a way to test the game offline if possible. ---
**Author:** ![Noph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/narrat.discourse.group/noph/32/476_2.png) [@Noph](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/Noph)\ **Post date:** [19 June 2026 23:20 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/8 "2026-06-19T23:20:20Z")
The virtual server serves a local build of the game, nothing leaves your machine. > made the game file using powershell There are several steps going into this as detailed on the page I linked to, did you follow them all? Try running `npm install` just in case ---
**Author:** ![liana](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/narrat.discourse.group/liana/32/428_2.png) [@liana](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/liana)\ **Post date:** [20 June 2026 00:03 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/9 "2026-06-20T00:03:27Z")
And show what the terminal is saying when you run the commands ---
**Author:** ![liana](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/narrat.discourse.group/liana/32/428_2.png) [@liana](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/liana)\ **Post date:** [20 June 2026 00:05 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/10 "2026-06-20T00:05:23Z")
> [@HarveyHatter](#): > > Typed npm start in, and received this. I typed in 0 after just in case, but nothing happened. (i have no idea what it means but it doesn’t look correct) Also this probably means npm modules arent installed so run `pnpm install` and see what happens with it. i’ve also seen some newer versions of pnpm have an annoying new security thing that breaks a bunch of things so if it has errors it might be needed to install an older one. Narrat is currently made using 10.13.1 Pretty sure you can do `npm install -g pnpm@10.13.1` to install a specific version if needed ---
**Author:** ![HarveyHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9fc348/32.png) [@HarveyHatter](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/HarveyHatter)\ **Post date:** [20 June 2026 01:12 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/11 "2026-06-20T01:12:43Z")
I believe so. Only thing I don’t have as it said it was optional was nvm for windows. I followed the tutorial video to create the folder, and then the steps to get pnpm. Here’s a screenshot of what happens when i run npm install in the terminal: (Also thank you for your help thus far, I really appreciate it) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/narrat/original/1X/82f1ecf5f635805ee3b8741e9cf55fb06100e760.png) ---
**Author:** ![HarveyHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9fc348/32.png) [@HarveyHatter](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/HarveyHatter)\ **Post date:** [20 June 2026 01:16 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/12 "2026-06-20T01:16:25Z")
That may be part of the problem. I deleted 2 files from the original folder as I was instructed to do so before installing pnpm. Perhaps using npm for now may be easier to get it working, before trying to upgrade it to pnpm. Although i do believe the problem of local host not running was happening before i did this. (i am still a little unsure as to what npm/pnpm do as i am completely new to this, so i hope this makes sense haha) ---
**Author:** ![liana](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/narrat.discourse.group/liana/32/428_2.png) [@liana](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/liana)\ **Post date:** [20 June 2026 07:54 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/13 "2026-06-20T07:54:55Z")
The npm install output looks normal/correct, if running npm start after it tells you vite isnt there that’s very weird. npm is just a tool that installs code libraries for javascript projects. So all it really does is download narrat and other dependencies and puts them in the project. But it is also notoriously finicky. Which files was it that you deleted though? Also you can try to delete the node\_modules folder (which is where said libraries get downloaded) and redo the npm install, in case something went wrong. Or even redo the npm create narrat in a new folder, to try fresh in case something is wrong with the one you’ve got ---
**Author:** ![HarveyHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9fc348/32.png) [@HarveyHatter](https://narrat.discourse.group/u/HarveyHatter)\ **Post date:** [20 June 2026 17:15 UTC](https://narrat.discourse.group/t/how-to-open-a-playtest-window/472/14 "2026-06-20T17:15:27Z")
I genuinely have no idea what happened but running npm start again somehow worked. Thanks so much for your help, I just have to hope it doesn’t magically stop working again haha ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/narrat/original/1X/a4019021288dbd78ba09a0fd3e92fba39b5db097.png)