Desktop Development Guide

Architecture Overview

LobeChat desktop is built on Electron with main-renderer architecture:

1. Main Process (

   apps/desktop/src/main

   ): App lifecycle, system APIs, window management
2. Renderer Process: Reuses web code from

   src/

3. Preload Scripts (

   apps/desktop/src/preload

   ): Securely expose main process to renderer

Adding New Desktop Features

1. Create Controller

Location:

apps/desktop/src/main/controllers/

import { ControllerModule, IpcMethod } from '@/controllers';

export default class NewFeatureCtr extends ControllerModule {
  static override readonly groupName = 'newFeature';

  @IpcMethod()
  async doSomething(params: SomeParams): Promise<SomeResult> {
    // Implementation
    return { success: true };
  }
}

Register in

apps/desktop/src/main/controllers/registry.ts

.

2. Define IPC Types

Location:

packages/electron-client-ipc/src/types.ts

export interface SomeParams { /* ... */ }
export interface SomeResult { success: boolean; error?: string }

3. Create Renderer Service

Location:

src/services/electron/

import { ensureElectronIpc } from '@/utils/electron/ipc';

const ipc = ensureElectronIpc();

export const newFeatureService = async (params: SomeParams) => {
  return ipc.newFeature.doSomething(params);
};

4. Implement Store Action

Location:

src/store/

5. Add Tests

Location:

apps/desktop/src/main/controllers/__tests__/

Detailed Guides

See

references/

for specific topics:

• Feature implementation:

  references/feature-implementation.md

• Local tools workflow:

  references/local-tools.md

• Menu configuration:

  references/menu-config.md

• Window management:

  references/window-management.md

Best Practices

1. Security: Validate inputs, limit exposed APIs
2. Performance: Use async methods, batch data transfers
3. UX: Add progress indicators, provide error feedback
4. Code organization: Follow existing patterns, add documentation