Learn Electron Desktop App Architecture: From Zero to Electron Master

Goal: Deeply understand the multi-process architecture of Electron—how to bridge the gap between web technologies and native system access safely. You will master Inter-Process Communication (IPC), secure context isolation, and state management across disparate processes. By the end, you’ll be able to architect complex, production-ready desktop applications that are as secure as a browser and as powerful as a native C++ app.

Why Electron Matters

In 2013, GitHub needed a way to build a text editor (Atom) that combined the flexibility of the web with the power of the desktop. They built Electron. By bundling Chromium (for rendering) and Node.js (for system access), they created a hybrid environment that changed software development forever.

Today, Electron powers the tools we use every hour: VS Code, Discord, Slack, and Obsidian.

Understanding Electron isn’t just about “making a web app a desktop app.” It’s about mastering the Security-Capability Tradeoff. You are giving web code the power to delete files on a hard drive—doing that safely requires a deep understanding of process isolation and secure communication channels.

The Hybrid Nature

            WEB WORLD                          NATIVE WORLD
      (Chromium Renderer)                  (Node.js Main Process)
    ┌─────────────────────┐              ┌──────────────────────┐
    │  HTML / CSS / JS    │      IPC     │  File System Access  │
    │  DOM Manipulation   │   ◄───────►  │  Native Menus/Tray   │
    │  Event Listeners    │              │  Process Management  │
    └─────────────────────┘              └──────────────────────┘
             ▲                                      ▲
             └──────────────────┬───────────────────┘
                                │
                        ELECTRON RUNTIME

Core Concept Analysis

1. The Multi-Process Architecture

Electron splits its work into two distinct types of processes to ensure that a crash in one window doesn’t take down the entire application.

The Main Process (The OS Liaison)

  • Role: Only one per app. It’s the “entry point” (usually main.js).
  • Access: Full Node.js API (fs, path, child_process).
  • Control: Creates and manages BrowserWindow instances.
  • Analogy: The Manager of a restaurant who talks to suppliers (OS) but never talks to the customers directly.

The Renderer Process (The UI)

  • Role: One per window/tab.
  • Access: Limited. By default, it’s a sandboxed browser environment.
  • Control: Handles the DOM, CSS, and user interactions.
  • Analogy: The Waiter who interacts with customers (users) but isn’t allowed to enter the walk-in freezer (OS).

2. IPC: The Nervous System

Since the Renderer and Main processes live in different memory spaces, they cannot share variables. They must communicate via Inter-Process Communication.

    RENDERER PROCESS                          MAIN PROCESS
    (Frontend)                                (Backend/Node)
    
    window.electronAPI.sendData(msg) ───►  ipcMain.handle('channel', ...)
                                                  │
                                                  ▼
    const response = await ...      ◄───   return result

3. Context Isolation & Preload Scripts

This is the most critical security boundary.

  • Preload Script: A “bridge” script that runs before the renderer loads. It has access to BOTH Node.js APIs and the Renderer’s window object.
  • contextBridge: The tool used to selectively expose safe versions of APIs to the renderer without giving the renderer full access to Node.js.
 [ Renderer Context ] <─── [ contextBridge ] <─── [ Preload Context ] <─── [ Node APIs ]
      (Unsafe)                  (Gatekeeper)              (Safe-ish)             (Power)

Concept Summary Table

Concept Cluster What You Need to Internalize
Process Isolation Renderer and Main live in separate worlds. Never try to “import” one into the other.
Secure IPC Always use ipcMain.handle and ipcRenderer.invoke. Sanitize all data coming from the renderer.
Context Bridge The window object is your only interface. Never enable nodeIntegration in production.
Lifecycle Windows aren’t destroyed when closed by default; they are hidden or unreferenced. Manage memory.

Deep Dive Reading by Concept

Foundation (The Big Picture)

| Concept | Book & Chapter | |———|—————-| | Electron Architecture | “Electron in Action” by Steve Kinney — Ch. 1: “Introducing Electron” | | Process Model | “Electron in Action” by Steve Kinney — Ch. 4: “Working with multiple windows” |

Security & Communication

| Concept | Book & Chapter | |———|—————-| | Secure IPC | “Electron Projects” by Denys Vuika — Ch. 2: “Deep Dive into IPC” | | Context Isolation | Electron Official Docs — “Security, Native Capabilities, and Your Responsibility” |

Project 1: Hardware HUD (The Hello World of IPC)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: JavaScript (ES6+)
  • Alternative Programming Languages: TypeScript
  • Coolness Level: Level 2: Practical but Forgettable
  • Business Potential: 1. The “Resume Gold”
  • Difficulty: Level 1: Beginner
  • Knowledge Area: System Monitoring / IPC
  • Software or Tool: Node.js os module
  • Main Book: “Electron in Action” by Steve Kinney

What you’ll build: A dashboard that displays real-time system stats (CPU usage, free memory, uptime) by fetching data from the Node.js os module in the Main process and sending it to the Chromium Renderer.

Why it teaches Electron: This is the cleanest way to see the “Bridge” in action. You’ll learn that the UI cannot see the OS, so it must ask the Main process. You’ll implement the invoke -> handle pattern.

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • Defining the Preload Bridge: You’ll struggle with why require('os') fails in the renderer.
  • Asynchronous Updates: Using setInterval in the Main process to “push” data vs the Renderer “polling” for data.
  • Data Serialization: Understanding that IPC only passes JSON-serializable objects.

Key Concepts:

  • ipcRenderer.invoke: [Electron Documentation - Inter-Process Communication]
  • contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld: [Electron Documentation - Context Isolation]

Difficulty: Beginner Time estimate: 4-6 hours Prerequisites: Basic HTML/JS, understanding that Node.js != Browser.

Real World Outcome

You will have a floating desktop window that shows your computer’s “vitals.” As you open other apps, you’ll see the memory bar in your Electron app move.

Example Output:

# UI View
---------------------------
|   System Dashboard      |
|                         |
|  CPU: [|||||     ] 45%  |
|  RAM: 8.2 GB / 16 GB    |
|  Uptime: 14:22:01       |
---------------------------

The Core Question You’re Answering

“If my code is running in a browser window, how does it know how much RAM my physical computer has?”

The answer is: It doesn’t. Only the Main process knows. This project teaches you the humility of the Renderer—it is a guest in a sandbox.

Concepts You Must Understand First

Stop and research these before coding:

  1. The ‘os’ Module
    • How do I get total memory in bytes?
    • What does os.cpus() return?
    • Reference: Node.js Documentation - os module.
  2. The Event Loop Misconception
    • If the Main process is busy calculating CPU stats, can the UI still scroll?
    • Reference: “Node.js Design Patterns” Ch. 2.

Questions to Guide Your Design

  1. Communication Style
    • Should the UI ask for stats every 1s (Pull)?
    • Or should the Main process send stats every 1s (Push)?
    • What are the performance implications of each?
  2. Security
    • Why shouldn’t I just expose the entire os module to the renderer via the bridge?

Thinking Exercise

The Serialization Barrier

Imagine you have a complex object in the Main process:

const myData = {
  cpu: "i7",
  logFunc: () => console.log("System check")
};

If you send this via ipcRenderer.invoke, what happens to logFunc when it arrives in the Renderer?

Questions:

  • Can functions be sent over IPC?
  • What is “Structured Clone Algorithm”?
  • Why does Electron use it?

The Interview Questions They’ll Ask

  1. “Why is nodeIntegration: true considered a security risk?”
  2. “How do you communicate between two different Renderer processes?”
  3. “What is the role of a preload script?”
  4. “Describe the difference between ipcRenderer.send and ipcRenderer.invoke.”
  5. “Can you access the DOM from the Main process?”

Hints in Layers

Hint 1: The Setup Create three files: main.js, preload.js, and index.html.

Hint 2: The Main Logic Use ipcMain.handle('get-stats', () => { return os.totalmem(); }).

Hint 3: The Bridge In preload.js, use contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('electronAPI', { getStats: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('get-stats') }).

Hint 4: The Renderer In your frontend JS, call const stats = await window.electronAPI.getStats().

Project 2: Secure File Secret Keeper (Permissions & FS)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: TypeScript, React (for UI)
  • Coolness Level: Level 3: Genuinely Clever
  • Business Potential: 2. The “Micro-SaaS / Pro Tool”
  • Difficulty: Level 2: Intermediate
  • Knowledge Area: Filesystem / Encryption
  • Software or Tool: fs module, crypto module
  • Main Book: “Electron Projects” by Denys Vuika

What you’ll build: A text editor that only saves files to a specific “Vault” folder. The user types, and the app encrypts the text before writing it to disk.

Why it teaches Electron: This moves beyond reading data to writing data. You’ll learn to manage native file dialogs (dialog module) and how to handle file paths safely across OSs (Windows \ vs Unix /).

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • The Dialog Barrier: The renderer cannot show a “Save File” window; it must request the Main process to do it.
  • Path Manipulation: Using the path module to ensure you don’t overwrite system files.
  • Buffer Handling: Encrypting text into binary Buffers and sending them across the IPC bridge.

Real World Outcome

You’ll have a functional “Notepad” that doesn’t save .txt files, but .vault files. If you open a .vault file in VS Code, it looks like gibberish. Only your Electron app can decrypt and display it.

Example Output:

# Filesystem view
$ ls ~/MyVault
secret_plans.vault (Encrypted binary data)

# App View
[ Open File ] -> (OS File Dialog opens)
[ Selection Made ] -> (Text appears decrypted in app)

The Core Question You’re Answering

“How do I give a web app permission to write files to a specific folder on my computer without compromising the whole system?”

This project answers how to use the Main process as a “Security Proxy.” The renderer handles the typing, but the Main process enforces where and how the data is saved.

Concepts You Must Understand First

  1. The ‘dialog’ Module
    • Can I open a file dialog from the Renderer? (Answer: No).
    • How do I return the selected path to the Renderer?
    • Reference: Electron Docs - dialog.
  2. Node.js ‘crypto’
    • What is an Initialization Vector (IV)?
    • Why shouldn’t I use crypto in the Renderer?

Questions to Guide Your Design

  1. State Ownership
    • Does the Renderer keep the unencrypted text in memory?
    • If the app crashes, is the text lost?
  2. UX
    • Should the user see the encryption key, or should it be stored in the app’s userData folder?

Thinking Exercise

The Path Injection Risk

If the Renderer sends a path to the Main process like: window.electronAPI.saveFile('../../Windows/System32/config.sys', data)

How would your Main process code prevent this “Directory Traversal” attack?

Questions:

  • Should the Main process trust the filename provided by the Renderer?
  • How does path.join and path.basename help?

The Interview Questions They’ll Ask

  1. “How do you handle ‘Save As’ functionality in Electron?”
  2. “What is the security risk of exposing fs to the renderer?”
  3. “Explain the difference between app.getAppPath() and app.getPath('userData').”

Hints in Layers

Hint 1: The UI Use a <textarea> and a <button>.

Hint 2: The Main Process Use dialog.showSaveDialog() inside an ipcMain.handle.

Hint 3: Encryption Use crypto.createCipheriv. Send the resulting Buffer back to the renderer if needed, or write it directly to disk in the Main process.

Project 3: The “Split-Brain” Multi-Window Controller

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: TypeScript
  • Coolness Level: Level 4: Hardcore Tech Flex
  • Business Potential: 1. The “Resume Gold”
  • Difficulty: Level 3: Advanced
  • Knowledge Area: Window Management / Event Bus
  • Software or Tool: BrowserWindow, webContents
  • Main Book: “Electron in Action” by Steve Kinney

What you’ll build: A “Control Panel” window and a “Display Window.” Moving a slider in the Control Panel moves an element in real-time in the Display Window.

Why it teaches Electron: This is the ultimate test of IPC architecture. Renderer A cannot talk to Renderer B. They must talk through the Main process (Hub and Spoke model).

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • Identity Management: How does the Main process know which window is the “Display” window?
  • IPC Round-tripping: Renderer A -> Main -> Renderer B.
  • Window Lifecycle: What happens to the Control Panel if the Display window is closed?

Real World Outcome

You will have two windows. Window A (The Controller) has a slider. Window B (The Viewer) has a circle that changes size as you move the slider in Window A.

Visual Trace:

  1. Slider moved in Window A.
  2. ipcRenderer.send('slider-move', value) -> Main Process.
  3. Main process finds Window B: windowB.webContents.send('update-circle', value).
  4. Window B updates DOM.

The Core Question You’re Answering

“How do two browser tabs talk to each other without a server?”

In a standard browser, tabs are isolated. In Electron, the Main process acts as the “Broker.”

Thinking Exercise

The Window Registry

If you have 10 windows, how does the Main process know which one is the “Display” window?

Design Task: Write a pseudo-code registry in main.js that maps ids to BrowserWindow instances. How do you clean up this registry when a window is closed?

The Interview Questions They’ll Ask

  1. “How do you send a message from one renderer to another?”
  2. “What is webContents.fromId()?”
  3. “Describe the risk of ‘Main Process Congestion’ when sending high-frequency messages (like 60fps slider moves).”

Hints in Layers

Hint 1: Global Variables Store the id of each window in a global variable in main.js.

Hint 2: The Middleware Use ipcMain.on('to-display', (event, data) => { ... }).

Hint 3: Targeting Inside the handler, use BrowserWindow.getAllWindows() to find the target.

Project 4: The Tray-Resident Pomodoro (Native UI)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: TypeScript
  • Coolness Level: Level 3: Genuinely Clever
  • Business Potential: 2. The “Micro-SaaS / Pro Tool”
  • Difficulty: Level 2: Intermediate
  • Knowledge Area: Native OS Integration
  • Software or Tool: Tray, Menu, Notification
  • Main Book: “Electron in Action” by Steve Kinney

What you’ll build: A timer app that lives entirely in the macOS Menu Bar / Windows System Tray. It shows the remaining time in the tray icon and sends a native OS notification when the timer ends.

Why it teaches Electron: Most apps aren’t just windows. You’ll learn to manage the app’s presence in the OS shell, handle right-click menus, and trigger native platform alerts.

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • Icon Rendering: Handling Dark vs Light mode icons in the tray.
  • Background Persistence: Preventing the app from quitting when all windows are closed.
  • Main-to-Renderer Pushing: Updating the Tray title from the Main process as the timer ticks.

Real World Outcome

A ticking clock in your menu bar.

Example Output:

# OS UI
[ (Icon) 24:59 ]

The Core Question You’re Answering

“Can an app exist without a window?”

Yes. This project shows how to manage “Headless” apps that only use Native OS widgets.

Project 5: The “Frameless” Design Studio (Custom Chrome)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: CSS / JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: React
  • Coolness Level: Level 4: Hardcore Tech Flex
  • Business Potential: 1. The “Resume Gold”
  • Difficulty: Level 2: Intermediate
  • Knowledge Area: Window Styling / Native IPC
  • Software or Tool: frame: false, -webkit-app-region: drag
  • Main Book: “Electron Projects” by Denys Vuika

What you’ll build: A music player interface that has no standard window border. You will build your own close, minimize, and maximize buttons using HTML/CSS and wire them to the OS.

Why it teaches Electron: This is how apps like Discord and Spotify look “custom.” You’ll learn the -webkit-app-region CSS property and how to use IPC to tell the Main process to window.maximize().

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • Dragging: Making the app draggable without a titlebar.
  • Window State Sync: Changing the “Maximize” icon to “Restore” when the window is actually maximized.
  • Platform Differences: Handling the traffic lights (Mac) vs the window controls (Windows).

Real World Outcome

A sleek app that looks like it was designed by Apple or Spotify, with no ugly Windows/macOS title bar.

Thinking Exercise: Why can’t you click a button inside a -webkit-app-region: drag area? How do you fix it with no-drag?

Project 6: High-Performance SQLite Browser (Heavy Data)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: TypeScript, SQL
  • Coolness Level: Level 3: Genuinely Clever
  • Business Potential: 3. The “Service & Support” Model
  • Difficulty: Level 3: Advanced
  • Knowledge Area: Database / Performance
  • Software or Tool: better-sqlite3, sql.js
  • Main Book: “Node.js Design Patterns” (for efficient data handling)

What you’ll build: An app where you can drag and drop a .sqlite file and view its tables. It must handle tables with 100,000+ rows without freezing the UI.

Why it teaches Electron: This teaches you the Data Bottleneck. Sending 100,000 rows over IPC will crash the app. You’ll learn pagination, data streaming, and why heavy logic belongs in the Main process (or a Worker).

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • Native Modules: Compiling better-sqlite3 for Electron (it has C++ parts).
  • Virtual Scrolling: Rendering only 20 rows at a time in the Chromium renderer while the database has millions.
  • IPC Payload Limits: Chunking data so the process bridge doesn’t overflow.

Real World Outcome

A high-performance table view where scrolling is butter-smooth even with 1 million records.

The Interview Questions They’ll Ask

  1. “How do you handle large data transfers between Main and Renderer?”
  2. “What are ‘Native Modules’ in Electron and why do they require electron-rebuild?”
  3. “Explain how to use a Worker Thread in the Main process.”

Project 7: The “Canary” Deployment App (Auto-Updates)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: TypeScript
  • Coolness Level: Level 3: Genuinely Clever
  • Business Potential: 3. The “Service & Support” Model
  • Difficulty: Level 3: Advanced
  • Knowledge Area: DevOps / Distribution
  • Software or Tool: electron-updater, GitHub Releases
  • Main Book: “Electron Projects” by Denys Vuika

What you’ll build: An app that checks for updates on launch. If a new version exists on GitHub, it downloads it in the background, shows a progress bar, and prompts the user to “Restart to Update.”

Why it teaches Electron Architecture: Updates are the hardest part of desktop apps. You’ll learn about the autoUpdater module, code signing (theoretical or practical), and how to manage the app’s state during a “pending” update.

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • Code Signing: Understanding why macOS/Windows will block your app without a certificate.
  • Update Events: Handling update-available, download-progress, and update-downloaded.
  • Packaging: Using electron-builder to create different installers for .dmg, .exe, and .deb.

Project 8: The Modern Multi-View Browser (WebContentsView)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: TypeScript
  • Coolness Level: Level 4: Hardcore Tech Flex
  • Business Potential: 5. The “Industry Disruptor”
  • Difficulty: Level 4: Expert
  • Knowledge Area: Chromium Internals / View Migration
  • Software or Tool: WebContentsView, BaseWindow
  • Main Book: Electron Official Documentation (v30+)

What you’ll build: A browser that uses the new WebContentsView API (replacing the deprecated BrowserView). It will feature “side-by-side” viewing of two different websites in one window.

Why it teaches Electron: This is the cutting edge of Electron (2024+). You’ll learn the shift from BrowserWindow to BaseWindow and how to manage multiple “Views” as modular UI components.

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • Layout Management: Manually calculating the bounds of views within a BaseWindow.
  • View Lifecycle: Creating and destroying WebContentsView instances without memory leaks.
  • Z-Index for Views: Ensuring the “Address Bar” view stays on top of the “Web Content” view.

Real World Outcome

You will have a browser window where the top “Address Bar” is a completely separate process from the web content below it. If the website crashes, you can still type in the address bar to go somewhere else.

The Core Question:

“Why did Electron move from one-webContents-per-window to multiple-Views-per-window?” Answer: Modularity. It allows for UIs that mix native elements and multiple web contents more flexibly.

Project 9: The “Shadow” Web Scraper (Background Workers)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: TypeScript, Cheerio
  • Coolness Level: Level 4: Hardcore Tech Flex
  • Business Potential: 2. The “Micro-SaaS / Pro Tool”
  • Difficulty: Level 4: Expert
  • Knowledge Area: Web Automation / Headless
  • Software or Tool: Hidden WebContentsView
  • Main Book: “Node.js Design Patterns”

What you’ll build: A tool that scrapes a website (like Amazon or a Stock site) in the background. It uses a hidden renderer process to execute JavaScript on the page and returns the results to the Main process.

Why it teaches Electron: It teaches you how to use Electron as a “Headless Browser.” You’ll learn to use executeJavaScript to “puppet” a web page and how to hide/show processes based on work status.

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • DOM Injection: Injecting scripts into a remote page safely.
  • Stealth: Handling User-Agent and Session headers so the site doesn’t block you.
  • Data Marshalling: Getting complex DOM objects back through the IPC bridge (serialization).

Project 10: The “Dark Arts” Native Addon (C++ Bridge)

  • File: LEARN_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Main Programming Language: C++ / JavaScript
  • Alternative Programming Languages: Rust (via Neon)
  • Coolness Level: Level 5: Pure Magic
  • Business Potential: 4. The “Open Core” Infrastructure
  • Difficulty: Level 5: Master
  • Knowledge Area: Native Addons / N-API
  • Software or Tool: Node-API (N-API)
  • Main Book: “Node.js Design Patterns” (Ch. 11: Native Addons)

What you’ll build: An Electron app that calculates massive Prime numbers or performs Image Blur. The UI is web, but the calculation is done in a raw C++ function compiled as a .node addon.

Why it teaches Electron: You’ll touch the “Bottom” of the stack. You’ll learn how Node.js (and thus Electron) communicates with C++ memory. You’ll understand the performance difference between JS and Native code.

Core challenges you’ll face:

  • Toolchain: Setting up node-gyp and a C++ compiler.
  • Memory Safety: Moving data from the V8 Heap (JS) to C++ memory and back.
  • Async Workers: Not blocking the Main process event loop with heavy C++ work.

Real World Outcome

You will see a “Benchmark” button. When clicked with JS, it takes 5 seconds. When clicked with the C++ addon, it takes 0.1 seconds.

The Interview Questions They’ll Ask

  1. “When should you use a Native Addon instead of a Worker Thread?”
  2. “What is Node-API (N-API) and why is it ‘ABI Stable’?”
  3. “How do you handle C++ crashes in an Electron app? (Hint: The whole process dies!)”

Project Comparison Table

Project Difficulty Time Depth of Understanding Fun Factor
1. Hardware HUD Level 1 6h Basic IPC (Push/Pull) ⭐⭐
2. Secret Keeper Level 2 1w FS & Encryption ⭐⭐⭐
3. Multi-Window Level 3 1w Hub & Spoke IPC ⭐⭐⭐
4. Tray Pomodoro Level 2 3d Native OS UI ⭐⭐⭐
5. Frameless Studio Level 2 4d Custom Windows ⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. SQLite Browser Level 3 2w Heavy Data IPC ⭐⭐⭐
7. Update Canary Level 3 2w CI/CD & Security ⭐⭐
8. Multi-View Browser Level 4 2w New View Architecture ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Shadow Scraper Level 4 2w Headless Automation ⭐⭐⭐⭐
10. Native Bridge Level 5 1m C++ / Memory Management ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommendation

If you are a web developer: Start with Project 1 (Hardware HUD) and Project 5 (Frameless Studio). You’ll feel at home with the HTML/CSS but will quickly realize the constraints of the Electron sandbox.

If you want to build professional tools: Focus on Project 6 (SQLite) and Project 8 (Multi-View). These teach the architectural patterns used by Slack and VS Code to handle massive amounts of data and modular interfaces.

Final Overall Project: “The Omniscience Dashboard”

What you’ll build: A “Master Dashboard” for developers that combines:

  1. Tray Access: A quick-launch menu for your favorite scripts.
  2. Multi-View IDE: A central window with a file explorer (Native FS) and multiple WebContentsView tabs for documentation.
  3. Local Database: A SQLite store that saves your “snippets” and command history.
  4. Native Grep: A C++ native addon that searches through 1GB of logs in milliseconds.
  5. Secure Updates: A self-updating mechanism via GitHub.
  6. Custom Chrome: A sleek, frameless UI that looks like a native macOS/Windows system tool.

Success Criteria:

  • You can search files using the C++ module and see results in a Renderer.
  • You can drag a file into the app, and it saves an encrypted copy in the “Vault.”
  • The app uses < 150MB of RAM when idling (mastering resource management).

Summary

This learning path covers Electron Desktop Architecture through 10 hands-on projects. Here’s the complete list:

# Project Name Main Language Difficulty Time Estimate
1 Hardware HUD JavaScript Level 1 6 Hours
2 Secret Keeper JavaScript Level 2 1 Week
3 Multi-Window JavaScript Level 3 1 Week
4 Tray Pomodoro JavaScript Level 2 3 Days
5 Frameless Studio CSS/JS Level 2 4 Days
6 SQLite Browser JavaScript Level 3 2 Weeks
7 Update Canary JavaScript Level 3 2 Weeks
8 Multi-View Browser JavaScript Level 4 2 Weeks
9 Shadow Scraper JavaScript Level 4 2 Weeks
10 Native Bridge C++ / JS Level 5 1 Month

For beginners: Start with projects #1, #4, #5 For intermediate: Jump to projects #2, #3, #6 For advanced: Focus on projects #8, #9, #10

Expected Outcomes

After completing these projects, you will:

  • Master the Multi-Process Model (Main vs Renderer).
  • Architect secure IPC bridges using contextBridge.
  • Handle Native OS UI (Tray, Menus, Dialogs) like a pro.
  • Understand the performance bottlenecks of web-on-desktop.
  • Build Native Addons to bypass JavaScript’s speed limits.

You’ll have built 10 working projects that demonstrate deep understanding of Electron Desktop Architecture from first principles.