Launchpad

One desktop window for all your Redstone tools, no command line required.

What it is

Launchpad is the Redstone desktop app that gives every installed tool its own tile in a left-hand rail. Click a tile and the tool opens in the same window. No terminal needed for day-to-day use.

Under the hood, Launchpad is a thin shell over RBM, the Redstone workbench manager. RBM owns the catalog, installs, and updates. Launchpad surfaces them as a graphical interface. The two ship together and are installed with a single command.

When to use it

Reach for Launchpad whenever you want to open or manage your Redstone tools without a terminal. It is the right home for:

Opening GUI tools with a single click
Browsing the catalog of available tools and installing free ones
Keeping RBM, Launchpad itself, and your installed workbenches up to date from one place

If you are automating workflows or building agent pipelines, your CLI agent will continue to call RBM directly. Launchpad and the RBM CLI are two front-ends of the same product and always stay in sync.

Installing

Launchpad requires RBM to function. One command installs both on a fresh Linux x86_64 machine:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Redstone-Logic/launchpad/master/install/install-both.sh | sh

If RBM is already installed and you only need to add or upgrade Launchpad:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Redstone-Logic/launchpad/master/install/install.sh | sh

If RBM fails during the combined install, Launchpad is not attempted. The error message tells you which step failed.

Prerequisite: webkit2gtk 4.1

Launchpad uses the system WebKitGTK webview to render its interface. The installer checks for it before downloading anything and tells you exactly what to install if it is missing.

Distribution	Install command
Debian / Ubuntu	`sudo apt-get install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0`
Fedora	`sudo dnf install webkit2gtk4.1`
Arch	`sudo pacman -S webkit2gtk-4.1`

What gets installed

Path	What it is
`~/.local/bin/redstone-launchpad`	Launch wrapper (sets a display compatibility flag, then starts the binary)
`~/.local/bin/redstone-launchpad-bin`	The compiled Launchpad binary
`~/.local/share/applications/redstone-launchpad.desktop`	App-menu entry (no admin rights needed)
`~/.local/share/icons/redstone-launchpad.png`	App icon shown in the system menu

The installer never requires sudo. Everything goes under ~/.local/. If a prior install exists, the old binary and wrapper are backed up before being replaced.

After install, open Launchpad from your app menu (“Redstone Launchpad”) or run redstone-launchpad in a terminal if ~/.local/bin is on your PATH. The installer prints an export PATH hint if that directory is not already set.

First run

When Launchpad opens for the first time with no tools installed, the main area shows:

Your Redstone apps, one window. Pick an app from the rail to launch it. Open Settings to install and manage RL tooling.

The left-hand rail is empty except for the Docs and Settings buttons at the bottom. Open Settings to browse the catalog and install your first tool.

Using Launchpad

The rail

The left rail lists every installed GUI tool as a tile. Click any tile to launch that tool. Launchpad starts it in the background and loads its interface into the main content area. Clicking a tile that is already running brings it back into view without restarting it.

When no tools are installed the rail shows: No apps yet. Open Settings to install.

Settings

Click the Settings button (gear icon, bottom of the rail) to open the Settings view. Settings is divided into three sections.

Updates – appears at the top only when updates are available. Each item shows the current version and the available version, with an Update button per item. When more than one update is available, an Update all button appears below the list.

Tools – lists GUI tools available from the catalog. Free tools show an Install button that installs immediately. Paid tools show a locked Purchase button (purchase flow coming soon). Each entry includes a description, version, and tags.

Harness – lists CLI agent harnesses that Launchpad can help you install alongside your tools.

On every launch, Launchpad silently checks for updates to itself, RBM, and your installed workbenches. If anything is out of date, a banner appears at the top of the window showing the count. Click Review to jump to the Updates section in Settings, or Dismiss to close the banner and check later.

The check never blocks startup: if the update service cannot be reached, no banner appears.

Updating Launchpad itself causes the app to restart automatically when the update is applied. Updates to RBM or workbenches apply in place and the window stays open.

Common pitfalls

RBM must be on your PATH. Launchpad calls the rbm binary for everything catalog-related: listing tools, installing, and checking for updates. If rbm is not found, Settings shows an actionable error instead of the catalog. Verify with which rbm in a terminal. If it is missing, re-run the combined installer.

First run with no tools installed. The rail starts empty. This is expected. Open Settings, browse the Tools section, and install a free tool. The rail updates immediately after install.

~/.local/bin not on PATH after a fresh install. The redstone-launchpad command may not be available in an existing terminal session until you reload your shell profile. The installer prints the exact export PATH line to add. You can also open Launchpad from your app menu entry without touching the terminal.

On Windows, the installer binary is unsigned. If you are running Launchpad on Windows, SmartScreen may warn that the binary is from an unknown publisher. This is expected for the current release – code signing is not yet in place. The installer runs a checksum gate on the downloaded binary regardless of the SmartScreen prompt.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Settings shows an error about `rbm` not found	`rbm` is not installed or not on `PATH`	Run `which rbm` in a terminal. If missing, re-run the combined installer. If present but in a non-standard location, add its parent directory to your `PATH` before launching Launchpad.
The rail is empty after install	No GUI tools are installed yet	Open Settings, go to the Tools section, and click Install on a free tool. The rail updates immediately.
Clicking a tile produces an error toast	The tool binary is missing or failed to start	Re-install the tool from Settings, or run `rbm install <name>` in a terminal.
`redstone-launchpad: command not found`	`~/.local/bin` is not on your `PATH`	Add `export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"` to your shell profile (`~/.bashrc` or `~/.zshrc`) and open a new terminal, or launch from the app menu instead.
App will not open from the desktop menu	The `.desktop` entry or binary is damaged	Re-run `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Redstone-Logic/launchpad/master/install/install.sh \| sh` to reinstall.
Settings shows “Failed to load settings”	IPC failure or `rbm` not on `PATH`	Confirm `rbm` is reachable with `which rbm`. If it is, restart Launchpad.
Update banner reappears on every launch	An available update has not been applied	Open Settings, scroll to the Updates section, and click Update or Update all.
The app window is blank or fails to render	`webkit2gtk` 4.1 is missing or the wrong version	Check that the package is installed: `dpkg -l 'libwebkit2gtk*'` (Debian/Ubuntu) or the equivalent for your distribution. See the Prerequisite section above for the install command.