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headless-mode

Run playground without visible UI using SDK methods directly. Load this skill when building Markdown compilers, code formatters, or tools that need compiled output without display.

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Repository
live-codes/livecodes
Last source activity
September 14, 2026 at 12:04
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English
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SKILL.md
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name
headless-mode
description
Run playground without visible UI using SDK methods directly. Load this skill when building Markdown compilers, code formatters, or tools that need compiled output without display.
metadata
{"type":"core","library":"livecodes","library_version":"0.13.0"}
requires
["sdk-embedding","sdk-methods"]
sources
["live-codes/livecodes:docs/docs/sdk/headless.mdx"]
This skill builds on sdk-embedding and sdk-methods. Read them first for foundational concepts. # LiveCodes — Headless Mode Headless mode runs LiveCodes without any visible UI. Use SDK methods to compile code, get output, and react to events. ## Setup ```javascript import { createPlayground } from 'livecodes'; // Create headless playground - container is optional const playground = await createPlayground({ headless: true, config: { markup: { language: 'markdown', content: '# Hello World' }, }, }); // Use SDK methods const code = await playground.getCode(); console.log(code.markup.compiled); // "<h1>Hello World</h1>" console.log(code.result); // Result page HTML ``` ## Core Patterns ### Markdown compiler ```javascript import { createPlayground } from 'livecodes'; let playground; async function compileMarkdown(markdown) { if (!playground) { playground = await createPlayground({ headless: true, config: { autoupdate: false }, }); } await playground.setConfig({ markup: { language: 'markdown', content: markdown }, }); const code = await playground.getCode(); return code.markup.compiled; } // Usage const html = await compileMarkdown('# Hello\n\nWorld'); console.log(html); // "<h1>Hello</h1>\n<p>World</p>" ``` ### React/JSX compiler ```javascript import { createPlayground } from 'livecodes'; let playground; async function compileJSX(jsxCode) { if (!playground) { playground = await createPlayground({ headless: true, config: { autoupdate: false }, }); } await playground.setConfig({ script: { language: 'react', content: jsxCode }, }); const code = await playground.getCode(); return code.script.compiled; } const compiled = await compileJSX(` function App() { return <h1>Hello</h1>; } `); ``` ### Python interpreter ```javascript import { createPlayground } from 'livecodes'; let playground; async function runPython(code) { if (!playground) { playground = await createPlayground({ headless: true, config: { autoupdate: true }, }); } // Set up console listener before running const outputs = []; playground.watch('console', ({ method, args }) => { outputs.push({ method, args }); }); await playground.setConfig({ script: { language: 'python', content: code }, }); // Python runs automatically with autoupdate: true // Or: await playground.run(); return outputs; } // Usage const outputs = await runPython('print("Hello from Python!")'); // [{ method: 'log', args: ['Hello from Python!'] }] ``` ### Get result HTML ```javascript async function getResultHTML(config) { const playground = await createPlayground({ headless: true, config: { ...config, autoupdate: false }, }); await playground.setConfig(config); const code = await playground.getCode(); return code.result; // Result page HTML } ``` ### Watch for changes ```javascript const playground = await createPlayground({ headless: true, config: { autoupdate: false }, }); // Watch for compiled code changes playground.watch('code', ({ code, config }) => { console.log('Compiled:', code.script.compiled); }); // Change config - watch callback fires await playground.setConfig({ script: { language: 'typescript', content: 'const x: number = 1;' }, }); ``` ## Common Mistakes ## Headless vs Visible Mode | Aspect | Visible | Headless | | --------- | ---------------- | ------------------------ | | Container | Required | Optional | | UI | Shown | Hidden | | Use case | User interaction | Programmatic compilation | ## When to Use Headless - **Markdown/MDX compiler** — Get compiled HTML without display - **Code formatter** — Use Prettier via LiveCodes - **Language transpiler** — TypeScript → JavaScript, SCSS → CSS - **Testing pipelines** — Run and verify code programmatically - **Python/Ruby/Go interpreter** — Execute WASM languages and capture output
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