BotApp - General Bots Desktop Application

BotApp is the Tauri-based desktop wrapper for General Bots, providing native desktop and mobile capabilities on top of the pure web UI from botui.

Architecture

botui (pure web)          botapp (Tauri wrapper)
┌─────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────────────┐
│  suite/         │◄─────│  Loads botui's UI       │
│  minimal/       │      │  + injects app-only     │
│  shared/        │      │    features via JS      │
│                 │      │                         │
│  No Tauri deps  │      │  Tauri + native APIs    │
└─────────────────┘      └─────────────────────────┘

Why Two Projects?

• botui: Pure web UI with zero native dependencies. Works in any browser.
• botapp: Wraps botui with Tauri for desktop/mobile native features.

This separation allows:

• Same UI code for web, desktop, and mobile
• Clean dependency management (web users don't need Tauri)
• App-specific features only in the native app

Features

BotApp adds these native capabilities to botui:

• Local File Access: Browse and manage files on your device
• System Tray: Minimize to tray, background operation
• Native Dialogs: File open/save dialogs
• Desktop Notifications: Native OS notifications
• App Settings: Desktop-specific configuration

Project Structure

botapp/
├── Cargo.toml              # Rust dependencies (includes Tauri)
├── build.rs                # Tauri build script
├── tauri.conf.json         # Tauri configuration
├── src/
│   ├── main.rs             # Tauri entry point
│   ├── lib.rs              # Library exports
│   └── desktop/
│       ├── mod.rs          # Desktop module
│       ├── drive.rs        # File system commands
│       └── tray.rs         # System tray functionality
├── ui/
│   └── app-guides/         # App-only HTML content
│       ├── local-files.html
│       └── native-settings.html
└── js/
    └── app-extensions.js   # Injected into botui's suite

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.70+
• Node.js 18+ (for Tauri CLI)
• Tauri CLI: cargo install tauri-cli

Platform-specific

Linux:

sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libappindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev

macOS:

xcode-select --install

Windows:

• Visual Studio Build Tools with C++ workload

Development

1. Clone both repositories:

git clone https://github.com/GeneralBots/botui.git
git clone https://github.com/GeneralBots/botapp.git

2. Start botui's web server (required for dev):

cd botui
cargo run

3. Run botapp in development mode:

cd botapp
cargo tauri dev

Building

Debug Build

cargo tauri build --debug

Release Build

cargo tauri build

Binaries will be in target/release/bundle/.

How App Extensions Work

BotApp injects js/app-extensions.js into botui's suite at runtime. This script:

1. Detects Tauri environment (window.__TAURI__)
2. Injects app-only navigation items into the suite's .app-grid
3. Exposes window.BotApp API for native features

Example usage in suite:

if (window.BotApp?.isApp) {
    // Running in desktop app
    const files = await BotApp.fs.listFiles('/home/user');
    await BotApp.notify('Title', 'Native notification!');
}

Tauri Commands

Available Tauri commands (invokable from JS):

Command	Description
list_files	List directory contents
upload_file	Copy file with progress
create_folder	Create new directory
delete_path	Delete file or folder
get_home_dir	Get user's home directory

Configuration

Edit tauri.conf.json to customize:

• productName: Application name
• identifier: Unique app identifier
• build.devUrl: URL for development (default: http://localhost:3000)
• build.frontendDist: Path to botui's UI (default: ../botui/ui/suite)

License

AGPL-3.0 - See LICENSE for details.

Testing and Safety Tooling

BotApp follows General Bots' commitment to code quality and safety. The following tools are available for verification:

Standard Testing

cargo test

Miri (Undefined Behavior Detection)

Miri detects undefined behavior in unsafe code. Useful for testing data structures and parsing logic.

cargo +nightly miri test

Limitations: Cannot test I/O, FFI, or full integration tests.

AddressSanitizer

Detects memory errors at runtime:

RUSTFLAGS="-Z sanitizer=address" cargo +nightly test

Kani (Formal Verification)

For mathematically proving critical code properties:

cargo kani --function critical_function

Ferrocene

Ferrocene is a qualified Rust compiler for safety-critical systems (ISO 26262, IEC 61508).

Should BotApp use Ferrocene?

• For typical desktop deployment: No - standard Rust + testing is sufficient
• Consider Ferrocene if: Deploying in regulated industries (medical, automotive, aerospace)

For most use cases, comprehensive testing with the tools above provides adequate confidence.

See Testing & Safety Tooling for complete documentation.

Related Projects

• botui - Pure web UI
• botserver - Backend server
• botlib - Shared Rust library