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we-electron

README.md

WE Electron App

Electron desktop application for the WE platform. This launcher uses the @we/app-framework package to provide a cross-platform AD4M-powered interface, with Electron-specific platform adapters.

Installation

# Install dependencies (Electron binary downloads automatically via postinstall script)
pnpm install

Note: The .npmrc file in the workspace root enables lifecycle scripts for Electron binary download. The postinstall script in package.json ensures this works correctly in pnpm workspaces.

What This App Does

The WE Electron launcher:

  • Spawns and manages the AD4M executor as a child process
  • Provides a SolidJS-based interface using @we/app-framework
  • Supports embedding external apps via iframe (e.g., Flux, custom apps)
  • Handles platform-specific concerns like IPC, screen sharing, and process management

Architecture

  • Main Process (electron/main.js):
    • Starts the AD4M executor as a child process
    • Manages HTTP servers for launcher and embedded apps
    • Handles IPC for AD4M connection details (port/token)
    • Implements screen sharing polyfill for embedded apps
  • Preload Script (electron/preload.js): Exposes secure IPC bridge via window.electron
  • Renderer (src/): SolidJS app using the shared @we/app-framework
  • Platform Adapter (src/platform/electronAdapter.ts): Implements AD4M connection using Electron IPC

How it Works

Unlike the Tauri app which embeds the Rust executor as a library, the Electron app:

  1. Spawns the ad4m-executor binary as a separate child process
  2. Passes configuration via command-line arguments (port, token, data path)
  3. Communicates with the frontend via IPC to provide connection details
  4. The renderer uses these details to connect to the executor's GraphQL API

Embedding External Apps

This launcher can embed external apps (like Flux) via iframe. The embedded apps receive AD4M credentials through a postMessage protocol.

See: EMBEDDING.md for the generic integration pattern.

Electron-Specific Considerations

Screen Sharing: Electron requires a polyfill for getDisplayMedia() to work in iframes:

  • The polyfill is injected into embedded apps' HTML at runtime
  • Uses Electron's desktopCapturer API under the hood
  • Requires webSecurity: false to allow iframe access to parent's Electron API
  • See electron/main.js for implementation details

HTTP Servers: In production, both the launcher and embedded apps are served via Express:

  • Launcher: http://localhost:9080
  • Embedded apps (e.g., Flux): http://localhost:8080
  • This avoids cross-origin issues between iframe and parent

Prerequisites

The Electron app requires the AD4M executor binary to be built. Build it from the ad4m repo:

cd ../../ad4m/cli
cargo build --release

This will create the ad4m-executor binary at ad4m/cli/target/release/ad4m-executor.

Development

See DEVELOPMENT.md for setup instructions and optional Flux integration example.