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The Asta desktop app is a native application built with Tauri v2, React 19, and TypeScript. It provides a fast, lightweight interface for interacting with your AI workspace through a system tray application with global keyboard shortcuts.

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Technology Stack

Core Technologies

  • Frontend: React 19 + TypeScript + Vite
  • Desktop Framework: Tauri v2 (Rust)
  • Styling: TailwindCSS with custom design system
  • Markdown: react-markdown with syntax highlighting

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Key Features

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Global Shortcut Access

The app registers Alt+Space (Option+Space on macOS) as a global shortcut to instantly show/hide the window from anywhere on your system. This allows quick access to Asta without switching contexts.

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System Tray Integration

Tray Behavior

  • Left click - Show and focus the app window
  • Right click - Open context menu (Open/Quit)
  • Close button - Hides to tray instead of quitting
The app lives in your system tray and continues running in the background, ready to appear instantly when needed.

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Multi-User Authentication

The app supports both single-user and multi-user modes:
  • Single-user mode: No login required, direct access to the workspace
  • Multi-user mode: JWT-based authentication with role management (admin/user)
  • Automatic auth validation and token refresh

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Setup Wizard

First-time users are guided through a setup wizard to configure:
  • AI provider selection (Claude, Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama)
  • API key configuration
  • Backend connection settings
  • Optional Tailscale integration for remote access

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Application Structure

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Directory Layout

The source code is located in MACWinApp/asta-app/ with the following structure: 
asta-app/
├── src/                    # React frontend
│   ├── App.tsx            # Main application component
│   ├── components/        # UI components
│   │   ├── Chat/         # Chat interface
│   │   ├── Sidebar/      # Navigation sidebar
│   │   ├── Settings/     # Settings panel
│   │   ├── Agents/       # Agent management
│   │   ├── Setup/        # Setup wizard
│   │   └── Login/        # Authentication
│   └── lib/              # Utilities
│       ├── api.ts        # Backend API client
│       ├── auth.ts       # Authentication helpers
│       ├── store.ts      # LocalStorage wrapper
│       └── types.ts      # TypeScript types
├── src-tauri/             # Rust backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── lib.rs        # Main Tauri application
│   ├── Cargo.toml        # Rust dependencies
│   └── tauri.conf.json   # Tauri configuration
├── package.json           # Node dependencies
└── vite.config.ts        # Vite build config

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Main Views

Chat View

The primary interface for conversing with AI agents. Supports streaming responses, markdown rendering, code syntax highlighting, and conversation history.

Sidebar

Shows conversation history, new chat button, agent picker, settings access, and online/offline status indicator.

Settings Sheet

Configure AI providers, API keys, backend URL, Tailscale integration, autostart preferences, and theme options.

Agents Sheet

Browse and enable specialized AI agents. Filter by category, toggle agent availability, and customize agent models.

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Tauri Plugins

The app uses several Tauri v2 plugins for native functionality:
  • tauri-plugin-global-shortcut - Register Alt+Space system-wide
  • tauri-plugin-autostart - Launch on system boot
  • tauri-plugin-http - Backend API communication
  • tauri-plugin-opener - Open URLs in default browser

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Backend Communication

The desktop app connects to the Asta backend server (default: http://localhost:8010) via REST API: 
// lib/api.ts handles all backend communication
const BACKEND_URL = "http://localhost:8010";

// Key endpoints:
- /api/chat          # Streaming chat responses
- /api/conversations        # Conversation management
- /api/agents               # List available agents
- /api/settings             # Configuration
- /api/auth/login           # Authentication
See the API Reference for complete endpoint documentation.

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Window Configuration

The main window is configured in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json: 
{
  "title": "Asta",
  "width": 1100,
  "height": 780,
  "minWidth": 720,
  "minHeight": 480,
  "visible": false,        // Hidden on launch (shown in setup)
  "center": true,
  "dragDropEnabled": false
}

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Platform Support

macOS

  • macOS 11+ (Big Sur and later)
  • Native Apple Silicon (aarch64) and Intel (x86_64) builds
  • NSApplication activation for proper window focusing

Windows

  • Windows 10/11
  • Bundled WebView2 runtime
  • MSI installer package

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Next Steps

Build from Source

Learn how to build the desktop app for development and production

Release Process

Understand the automated release workflow and version management

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