Stack Solver Web is a browser-based pallet loading optimizer built with Node.js and vanilla web technologies. It is a port of the original WPF desktop application, enabling you to calculate optimal box layouts directly from any device with a modern browser.

• 📦 Multiple box types & Excel import – plan layouts for several box sizes at once and populate them via spreadsheet uploads.
• 📐 Automatic orientation selection – evaluates both pallet orientations and picks the configuration that maximises the occupied area.
• 📊 Detailed metrics – displays efficiency, number of boxes per level, total weight, and more.
• 🖼️ Interactive layout preview – renders a scaled top-down view of the pallet showing both box orientations.
• 🧱 3D pallet visualisation – reproduces the original desktop app's 3D stack preview directly in the browser using WebGL.
• 🌐 Browser access – calculate layouts instantly in the browser with no round-trips to the server.

1. Install dependencies:

   npm install

2. Start the development server:

   npm run dev

   The application becomes available at http://localhost:3000.

3. For production use you can run the lightweight server directly:

   npm start

.
├── public/           # Static assets served by Express (HTML, CSS, JS)
├── shared/
│   └── solver.js     # Core optimisation logic shared by the UI and API
├── server.js         # Express server exposing the web UI and API endpoint
├── package.json      # Project metadata and scripts
└── README.md

The browser UI reuses the same solver module locally, so results are available even if the API is unreachable. For integrations, a REST endpoint remains available at POST /api/solve. You can submit either a single box object or a boxes array to evaluate multiple layouts at once. Example payload:

{
  "pallet": {
    "length": 120,
    "width": 100,
    "height": 15,
    "maxHeight": 180,
    "weight": 25,
    "maxWeight": 1000
  },
  "boxes": [
    {
      "label": "Cartons 40×30×20",
      "length": 40,
      "width": 30,
      "height": 20,
      "weight": 10,
      "quantity": 180
    },
    {
      "label": "Mixed totes",
      "length": 50,
      "width": 40,
      "height": 25,
      "weight": 12.5
    }
  ]
}

The response contains pallet metrics, arrangement details, and layout arrays for custom visualisations. Multi-box requests return a results array (one element per box type) alongside a high-level summary with totals:

• layout – placements for a single pallet level (useful for 2D projections).
• layout3d – placements repeated for each stack level with height data for 3D rendering.
• summary – aggregated totals such as boxes placed, load weight, tallest stack height, and unplaced quantities.

The browser UI accepts .xlsx and .xls files with columns for length, width, height, and weight. Optional columns such as label/name and quantity are detected automatically and mapped to solver inputs, allowing you to prepare box masters directly in spreadsheet form.

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.