Desktop

Provides a desktop application using the system's webview

Technology

The desktop module enables Project Forge applications to run as native desktop applications across Windows, macOS, and Linux using system webviews.

Overview

This module transforms your web application into a cross-platform desktop application using:

Native Desktop Apps: Creates platform-specific executables for Windows, macOS, and Linux
System Webview Integration: Uses the operating system’s built-in webview for rendering
Embedded Server: Bundles your web server as a library within the desktop application
Cross-Platform Builds: Automated build process supporting multiple architectures

Key Features

Multi-Platform Support

Windows: Uses Edge WebView2 for modern web standards support
macOS: Leverages WKWebView with native performance
Linux: Utilizes WebKitGTK for consistent rendering

Performance Benefits

Native OS integration with system webviews
No separate browser runtime required
Minimal memory footprint compared to Electron
Direct access to system resources

Developer Experience

Single codebase for web and desktop versions
Automatic server lifecycle management
Cross-compilation via Docker containers
Consistent UI/UX across platforms

Package Structure

Build Infrastructure

bin/ - Desktop-specific build scripts and automation
- Cross-platform compilation utilities
- Package generation for different OS targets
- Distribution and signing workflows
tools/ - Platform-specific build tools and dependencies
- WebView runtime configurations
- OS-specific compilation requirements
- Packaging and installer generation

Building Desktop Applications

Prerequisites

Docker (required for cross-compilation)

Build Process

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# Build desktop applications for all platforms
./bin/build/desktop.sh

Cross-Compilation

Due to platform-specific dependencies and CGO requirements, desktop builds are performed in Docker containers with pre-configured toolchains for each target platform.

Supported Platforms

Platform	Architecture	WebView Technology	Notes
Windows	x64, ARM64	Edge WebView2	Requires WebView2 runtime
macOS	x64, ARM64	WKWebView	Native system component
Linux	x64, ARM64	WebKitGTK	Requires gtk3-devel

Dependencies

The desktop module integrates with:

WebView - Cross-platform webview library
Platform WebViews - System-native rendering engines
Docker - Cross-compilation environment
CGO - Required for native webview bindings

Limitations

CGO Dependency: Cross-compilation requires Docker due to CGO requirements
WebView Availability: Target systems must have compatible webview runtimes
Platform Differences: Some web features may behave differently across webview implementations

Source Code

Repository: https://github.com/kyleu/projectforge/tree/main/module/desktop
License: CC0 (Public Domain)
Author: Kyle U (kyle@kyleu.com)