RFC: Native desktop app using Rust/Iced

[EconoBen]

Proposal

I'd like to build a native desktop application for msgvault using Rust and the Iced GUI framework.

See the full proposal: docs/desktop-app-proposal.md

Summary

• Architecture: HTTP API client that talks to msgvault serve
• Features: Full TUI parity + account setup GUI, sync management, settings UI
• Timeline: 8-12 weeks, phased implementation
• Repository: Development in EconoBen/msgvault-desktop (separate repo)

Why This Approach

1. Reuses existing Go server - No need to reimplement backend logic
2. Works with remote NAS - Same HTTP API that TUI remote mode uses
3. Clean separation - Desktop app is pure UI, server handles data

What I'm Looking For

• Feedback on the approach
• Any concerns before I start building
• Thoughts on eventual integration

This is a draft PR to announce the effort and gather feedback. The actual code will be developed in a separate repo.

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@wesm @hughbien - Would love your thoughts!

[roborev-ci]

roborev: Combined Review

✅ Verdict: No Medium, High, or Critical findings; all reviews agree this change is clean.

This PR adds documentation only (docs/desktop-app-proposal.md) and introduces no executable code, config, dependency, or CI/runtime changes.

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Synthesized from 4 reviews (agents: codex, gemini | types: security, default)

[wesm]

Looks like a good proposal to me. Working on it in a standalone repo also makes sense, and we can always move it to a project org later if you want it to become owned by the community in the future

[roborev-ci]

roborev: Combined Review (f8d54d2)

Verdict: No Medium/High/Critical issues found; all reviewers agree this PR is documentation-only and clean.

Findings (Medium+)

None.

Notes

The reviewed changes are limited to:

• docs/desktop-app-proposal.md
• docs/foundry-design-mockups.pdf

No executable code, dependency, CI/CD, or runtime logic changes were identified.

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Synthesized from 4 reviews (agents: codex, gemini | types: default, security)

[EconoBen]

Foundry Design Mockups

@wesm — I've put together comprehensive UI mockups for the desktop app using a warm copper dark theme ("Foundry"). The full design covers 13 screens:

1. Design System — Color tokens, typography scale, spacing, depth effects
2. Inbox / Message List — 3-line message rows, selection, sidebar navigation
3. Message Detail — Full message view with action bar, attachments
4. Search — Search input with Fast/Deep mode toggle, results with match highlighting, plus 3 empty state variants (default, loading, no results)
5. Settings & Accounts — Account management, sync config, label colors
6. Dashboard — Archive stats grid (2×3), sync activity, storage
7. Aggregates — Top senders/domains/labels with bar charts
8. Thread View — Conversation threading with collapse/expand
9. Compose Modal — Reply/forward with markdown support
10. Command Palette — Fuzzy search across all commands
11. AI Integration — MCP-powered sidebar assistant
12. Modals & Toasts — Confirmation dialogs, toast notifications, deletion staging
13. First-Run Wizard — 4-step onboarding flow

📎 View the full design PDF

Would love your feedback on the overall direction, layout, and interaction patterns before we start building!

[EconoBen]

Updated: The design PDF now includes all 13 pages (was previously only 1). Same link:

📎 Foundry Design Mockups — Full 13-page PDF

@wesm

[roborev-ci]

roborev: Combined Review (20fdea3)

Verdict: All agents agree the code is clean; no medium, high, or critical issues were found
.

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Synthesized from 4 reviews (agents: codex, gemini | types: default, security)

[wesm]

@EconoBen that looks cool to me. Probably we can work on theming to provide different "looks" (light/dark mode, compact / more spacious). For example personally as you can see with https://www.agentsview.io/ I tend to prefer a more streamlined / compact aesthetic, but I get this is not for everyone! Looks like a fun project to work on.

I haven't forgotten about your remote TUI PR, just have been insanely busy, I'll get to it