Fabric.Desktop/README.md

Fabric.Desktop

A self-contained Electron desktop app for Fabric. It bundles the Fabric.Frontend SPA inside the package and loads it locally over file:// — no separate frontend web server is needed. It still talks to the Center/Guild backends over HTTP (the Center base is set on the login screen, so the desktop app points at whatever host runs the backends).

How it works

• npm run build:renderer builds Fabric.Frontend with a relative asset base (build:desktop) and copies the bundle into renderer/.
• main.js loads renderer/index.html in production (falls back to offline.html if the bundle is missing); dev mode loads FABRIC_DESKTOP_URL (default http://localhost:5173).
• Security baseline: contextIsolation + sandbox, no arbitrary new windows/navigation; preload exposes a small IPC allowlist (fabric:config:get|set, fabric:notify).
• System tray (show/hide window, quit) with the Fabric tray icon; app/window icons use the Fabric mark.

Develop

npm install
npm run start:dev     # expects Fabric.Frontend dev server at :5173
# or, against the bundled renderer:
npm run build:renderer && npm start

Build / package

npm install
npm run pack          # unpacked dir (no installer)
npm run dist:linux    # AppImage, deb, tar.gz   -> dist/
npm run dist:mac      # dmg, zip
npm run dist:win      # nsis, zip

Each dist:*/pack runs build:renderer first (so Fabric.Frontend must be present beside this submodule, which it is in the Fabric checkout). Output goes to dist/ (git-ignored). productName is Fabric so the app installs to /opt/Fabric/ (a space there breaks Electron's sandbox); the launcher is still labelled "Fabric Desktop". Linux icons are generated from build/icons/.

Notes

• The bundled SPA uses HashRouter under file:// (no server for the History API). The Center/Guild backends are HTTP and CORS-allow the Electron file:// origin (null).