overview

Architecture Overview

All paths are relative to `apps/emdash-desktop/`.

Process Model

• `src/main/`: Electron main process — app lifecycle, RPC controllers, domain services, database, PTY orchestration, updater, SSH
• `src/preload/`: Electron preload bridge — exposes typed `invoke`, `eventSend`, `eventOn` to renderer
• `src/renderer/`: React UI — app shell (`app/`), feature areas (`features/`), shared infrastructure (`lib/`), typed RPC client
• `src/shared/`: Provider registry, IPC primitives (RPC + events), MCP types, skills types, shared domain types

Boot Sequence

`src/main/index.ts` → app lifecycle → IPC/RPC registration → window creation → renderer

• `index.ts` — Loads `.env`, normalizes PATH, initializes database, registers all RPC controllers via `src/main/rpc.ts`, creates the main window.
• `src/main/rpc.ts` — Assembles the typed RPC router from domain controllers (`src/main/core/*/controller.ts`).
• `src/preload/index.ts` — Exposes `window.electronAPI` (`invoke`, `eventSend`, `eventOn`) via `contextBridge`.
• `src/renderer/lib/ipc.ts` — Creates the typed RPC client and event emitter used throughout the renderer.

Build Tooling

• `electron.vite.config.ts` — electron-vite config for main, preload, and renderer builds.
• `vitest.config.ts` — Vitest config with five test projects: `node`, `main-db`, `fixtures`, `migrations`, and `browser` (Playwright-backed renderer tests).
• Single `tsconfig.json` (in `apps/emdash-desktop/`) for all app targets.

Read Next

• Main process details: `main-process.md`
• Renderer details: `renderer.md`
• Shared modules and provider registry: `shared.md`