`, favicon, and body of `Root()` to\nmatch your app's existing `index.html`, and stamp anything else your shell\nreferences directly (images, css) with `immutableFileUrl()`.\n\n1. Create `frontend/root.tsx`:\n\n```tsx\n/** @jsxImportSource npm:hono@4/jsx */\nimport { raw } from \"npm:hono@4/html\";\nimport { immutableFileUrl } from \"https://esm.town/v/std/utils/index.ts\";\n\n// The HTML shell for the app. It is never cached, so immutableFileUrl can stamp\n// the current val version into each asset URL — the browser caches those\n// immutably, and publishing the val changes the URLs, refetching exactly once.\nexport function Root() {\n return (\n <>\n {raw(\"<!DOCTYPE html>\")}\n <html lang=\"en\">\n <head>\n <meta charSet=\"UTF-8\" />\n <meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\" />\n <title>React Hono Val Town Starter

[{"_1":2,"_3":-5,"_4":-5},"loaderData",{"_5":6,"_7":8,"_9":10},"actionData","errors","root",{"_259":260,"_261":262},"routes/_app.x.$handle.$name",{"_11":12,"_13":14,"_15":16,"_18":19,"_17":-7,"_194":-5,"_20":195,"_22":196,"_197":198,"_199":200,"_26":201,"_24":202,"_203":-5,"_204":-5,"_205":59,"_206":207,"_208":56,"_209":-5,"_210":-5,"_211":212},"routes/_app.x.$handle.$name.branch.$branch.code.$",{"_11":12,"_13":14,"_15":16,"_17":-7,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":23,"_24":25,"_26":27,"_28":-5,"_29":-5,"_30":-5,"_31":-5,"_32":-5},"handle","oromaskevic23","name","imperial-first-val","branchName","main","version","path","index.ts","project",{"_33":136,"_13":14,"_45":137,"_138":-5,"_139":59,"_140":141,"_142":141,"_143":144,"_145":-5,"_146":147,"_148":38,"_149":56,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_152":67,"_153":154,"_155":156,"_157":158,"_159":160,"_161":-5,"_162":163,"_164":163,"_165":166,"_167":166,"_168":166,"_169":163,"_170":163,"_171":172,"_173":174,"_175":176,"_177":59},"tree",[51,52,53,54],"file",{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_13":19,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_17":43,"_44":-5,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":14,"_18":50},"contents",[],"upstream","pull","ahead","behind","envVars","id","86b68ba7-10b9-4989-98f4-7dd2cd056fe9","branchId","b40e0dde-a4fd-4180-a7bf-2de4e3915870","fileId","01a03fbc-7bc9-7370-927e-c4ffd11c6ea7","content","import { parseVal, serveImmutableFile } from \"https://esm.town/v/std/utils/index.ts\";\nimport { Hono } from \"npm:hono\";\nimport { Root } from \"./frontend/root.tsx\";\n\nconst app = new Hono();\n\n// Serve the (never-cached) HTML shell at the root /\napp.get(\"/\", (c) => c.html(Root()));\n\n// Serve frontend files at the version-addressed URLs Root() stamps, cached immutably\napp.get(\"/__immutable/*\", (c) => serveImmutableFile(c.req.path));\n\n// View source redirect\napp.get(\"/source\", (c) => c.redirect(parseVal().links.self.val));\n\n// Minimal API route used by the React frontend.\napp.get(\"/api/status\", (c) =>\n c.json({\n service: \"IMPERIAL Core — First Val\",\n state: \"ACTIVE\",\n deployedAt: new Date().toISOString(),\n }),\n);\n\n// Unwrap and rethrow Hono errors as the original error\n// If you delete this, all errors will be \"Internal Server Error\"\napp.onError((err) => Promise.reject(err));\n\n// HTTP vals expect an exported \"fetch handler\"\n// This is how you \"run the server\" in Val Town with Hono\nexport default app.fetch;\n","fileType","http",1,"parentId","createdAt",["D",1787775812997],"branchVersion",4,"label",[19],{"_33":78,"_13":79,"_37":80,"_44":-5,"_35":36,"_47":43,"_55":56,"_45":81,"_17":67,"_41":82,"_39":-5,"_58":59,"_49":-5,"_60":83,"_18":84},{"_33":71,"_13":72,"_37":73,"_44":-5,"_35":36,"_47":43,"_55":56,"_45":74,"_17":67,"_41":24,"_39":75,"_58":59,"_49":-5,"_60":76,"_18":77},{"_33":63,"_13":64,"_37":65,"_44":-5,"_35":36,"_47":43,"_55":56,"_45":66,"_17":67,"_41":24,"_39":68,"_58":59,"_49":-5,"_60":69,"_18":70},{"_33":34,"_13":19,"_37":38,"_44":-5,"_35":36,"_47":48,"_55":56,"_45":57,"_17":43,"_41":42,"_39":40,"_58":59,"_49":14,"_60":61,"_18":62},"latest",true,["D",1787775812997],"deleted",false,"children",[],[19],"996541b9-2646-4cee-bd51-9aa0f5be59d2","README.md","01a03fbc-7bc9-7370-927e-c201b98bd789",["D",1787775712115],0,"# React + Hono Starter\n\nA minimal starter template for building client-side React apps with a Hono\nbackend on Val Town. Click **Remix** to get your own copy.\n\n## Picking a starter\n\n| Starter | When to pick it |\n| --- | --- |\n| [`basic-html-starter`](https://www.val.town/x/templates/basic-html-starter) | Static HTML pages. Sprinkle of vanilla JS. No server-side rendering. |\n| [`hono-jsx-starter`](https://www.val.town/x/templates/hono-jsx-starter) | Dynamic server-rendered HTML with JSX. API routes. No React, no SPA. |\n| **[`react-hono-starter`](https://www.val.town/x/templates/react-hono-starter)** *(you're here)* | Client-side React SPA with a Hono API backend. |\n\n**Want to build UI?** Start writing React components in\n[`frontend/components/`](/frontend/components/). Import them into `App.tsx` and\nyou're good to go. Styling is [Twind](https://twind.style/) — just use Tailwind\nutility classes, zero config.\n\n**Want to add an API?** Add routes in [`index.ts`](/index.ts) (there's a\ncommented-out example). Fetch them from your React components.\n\n## Architecture\n\n```mermaid\ngraph LR\n Browser -->|\"GET /\"| Hono[\"index.ts
(Hono server)\"]\n Hono -->|serves| HTML[\"root.tsx\"]\n HTML -->|loads| Entry[\"index.tsx\"]\n Entry -->|renders| App[\"App.tsx\"]\n App -->|renders| Counter[\"Counter.tsx\"]\n```\n\n## File structure\n\n```\nindex.ts ← Hono backend (serves frontend + API routes)\nfrontend/\n root.tsx ← HTML shell (stamps immutable asset URLs)\n index.tsx ← React entrypoint (mounts )\n favicon.svg ← App icon\n components/\n App.tsx ← Root component (layout + view source link)\n Counter.tsx ← Example component with state\n```\n\n## How it works\n\n1. **`index.ts`** is the HTTP entrypoint — a Hono server that serves the\n frontend and any API routes you add.\n2. **`frontend/root.tsx`** is the HTML shell — it loads Twind and stamps\n immutable asset URLs for the favicon and React entrypoint.\n3. **`frontend/index.tsx`** mounts the React app.\n4. **`frontend/components/App.tsx`** is the root layout — add new components\n alongside it.\n5. **`frontend/components/Counter.tsx`** is an example stateful component —\n replace it with your own!\n\n## Next steps\n\n- Add API routes in `index.ts`\n- Add new components in `frontend/components/`\n- Add a SQLite database — see the\n [React Hono Example](https://www.val.town/x/stevekrouse/reactHonoExample) for\n a full-stack example with database, queries, and shared types\n\nTemplate updates and upgrade paths for existing remixes: [CHANGELOG.md](/CHANGELOG.md)\n",[],[64],"1fcac4bf-8e9d-4065-b5f2-5dd8087bd47a","CHANGELOG.md","01a03fbc-7bc9-7370-927e-bd8a0487ab60",["D",1787775712115],"# Changelog\n\n## 2026-07-30 — Immutable asset caching\n\nFrontend files are now served at version-addressed URLs\n(`/__immutable/45/frontend/index.tsx`) with\n`Cache-Control: public, max-age=31536000, immutable`, so repeat visits load the\nwhole client graph from the browser cache — roughly 3× faster (~665ms → ~157ms\nmeasured). Publishing your val bumps its version, which changes every URL, so\ncaches invalidate automatically. Old-version URLs return 404 after a publish\n(like Next.js build assets); a reload picks up the new version.\n\nWhat changed in the template:\n\n- `frontend/index.html` → [`frontend/root.tsx`](/frontend/root.tsx): the HTML\n shell is now JSX and stamps asset URLs with `immutableFileUrl()`\n- [`index.ts`](/index.ts): serves `Root()` at `/`, and one\n `app.get(\"/__immutable/*\", (c) => serveImmutableFile(c.req.path))` route\n serves all frontend files\n\n### Upgrading an existing remix\n\nYour copy of this template doesn't update automatically. Two options:\n\n**Minimal (most of the benefit):** point both routes at `serveImmutableFile` —\nyour existing bare URLs redirect into versioned space, the new route serves\nthem, and the whole module graph gets cached (costs one redirect per page view):\n\n```ts\nimport { serveImmutableFile } from \"https://esm.town/v/std/utils/index.ts\";\n\napp.get(\"/__immutable/*\", (c) => serveImmutableFile(c.req.path));\napp.get(\"/frontend/**/*\", (c) => serveImmutableFile(c.req.path)); // was serveFile\n```\n\n**Full upgrade (also removes the redirect):** three self-contained steps —\nno other files needed. Adjust the ``, favicon, and body of `Root()` to\nmatch your app's existing `index.html`, and stamp anything else your shell\nreferences directly (images, css) with `immutableFileUrl()`.\n\n1. Create `frontend/root.tsx`:\n\n```tsx\n/** @jsxImportSource npm:hono@4/jsx */\nimport { raw } from \"npm:hono@4/html\";\nimport { immutableFileUrl } from \"https://esm.town/v/std/utils/index.ts\";\n\n// The HTML shell for the app. It is never cached, so immutableFileUrl can stamp\n// the current val version into each asset URL — the browser caches those\n// immutably, and publishing the val changes the URLs, refetching exactly once.\nexport function Root() {\n return (\n <>\n {raw(\"<!DOCTYPE html>\")}\n <html lang=\"en\">\n <head>\n <meta charSet=\"UTF-8\" />\n <meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\" />\n <title>React Hono Val Town Starter\n \n