tftsr-devops_investigation/docs/architecture/adrs/ADR-001-tauri-desktop-framework.md
Shaun Arman fdb4fc03b9 docs(architecture): add C4 diagrams, ADRs, and architecture overview
Comprehensive architecture documentation covering:

- docs/architecture/README.md: Full C4 model diagrams (system context,
  container, component), data flow sequences, security architecture,
  AI provider class diagram, CI/CD pipeline, and deployment diagrams.
  All diagrams use Mermaid for version-controlled diagram-as-code.

- docs/architecture/adrs/ADR-001: Tauri vs Electron decision rationale
- docs/architecture/adrs/ADR-002: SQLCipher encryption choices and
  cipher_page_size=16384 rationale for Apple Silicon
- docs/architecture/adrs/ADR-003: Provider trait + factory pattern
- docs/architecture/adrs/ADR-004: Regex + Aho-Corasick PII detection
- docs/architecture/adrs/ADR-005: Auto-generate encryption keys at
  runtime (documents the fix from PR #24)
- docs/architecture/adrs/ADR-006: Zustand state management rationale

- docs/wiki/Architecture.md: Updated module table (14 migrations, not
  10), corrected integrations description, updated startup sequence to
  reflect key auto-generation, added links to new ADR docs.

- README.md: Fixed stale database paths (tftsr → trcaa) and updated
  env var descriptions to reflect auto-generation behavior.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-04-07 09:35:35 -05:00

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2.7 KiB
Markdown

# ADR-001: Tauri as Desktop Framework
**Status**: Accepted
**Date**: 2025-Q3
**Deciders**: sarman
---
## Context
A cross-platform desktop application is required for IT engineers who need:
- Fully offline operation (local AI via Ollama)
- Encrypted local data storage (sensitive incident details)
- Access to local filesystem (log files)
- No telemetry or cloud dependency for core functionality
- Distribution on Linux, macOS, and Windows
The main alternatives considered were **Electron**, **Flutter**, **Qt**, and a pure **web app**.
---
## Decision
Use **Tauri 2** with a **Rust backend** and **React/TypeScript frontend**.
---
## Rationale
| Criterion | Tauri 2 | Electron | Flutter | Web App |
|-----------|---------|----------|---------|---------|
| Binary size | ~8 MB | ~120+ MB | ~40 MB | N/A |
| Memory footprint | ~50 MB | ~200+ MB | ~100 MB | N/A |
| OS WebView | Yes (native) | No (bundled Chromium) | No | N/A |
| Rust backend | Yes (native perf) | No (Node.js) | No (Dart) | No |
| Filesystem access | Scoped ACL | Unrestricted by default | Limited | CORS-limited |
| Offline-first | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| SQLCipher integration | Via rusqlite | Via better-sqlite3 | Via plugin | No |
| Existing team skills | Rust + React | Node.js + React | Dart | TypeScript |
**Tauri's advantages for this use case:**
1. **Security model**: Capability-based ACL prevents frontend from making arbitrary system calls. The frontend can only call explicitly-declared commands.
2. **Performance**: Rust backend handles CPU-intensive work (PII regex scanning, PDF generation, SQLCipher operations) without Node.js overhead.
3. **Binary size**: Uses the OS-native WebView (WebKit on macOS/Linux, WebView2 on Windows) — no bundled browser engine.
4. **Stronghold plugin**: Built-in encrypted key-value store for credential management.
5. **IPC type safety**: `generate_handler![]` macro ensures all IPC commands are registered; `invoke()` on the frontend can be fully typed via `tauriCommands.ts`.
---
## Consequences
**Positive:**
- Small distributable (<20 MB .dmg vs 150+ MB Electron .dmg)
- Rust's memory safety prevents a class of security bugs
- Tauri's CSP enforcement and capability ACL provide defense-in-depth
- Native OS dialogs, file pickers, and notifications
**Negative:**
- WebKit/WebView2 inconsistencies require cross-browser testing
- Rust compile times are longer than Node.js (mitigated by Docker CI caching)
- Tauri 2 is relatively new smaller ecosystem than Electron
- macOS builds require a macOS runner (no cross-compilation)
**Neutral:**
- React frontend works identically to a web app no desktop-specific UI code needed
- TypeScript IPC wrappers (`tauriCommands.ts`) decouple frontend from Tauri details