Compose Multiplatform Desktop patterns for the `desktopApp/` module. Use when working with (1) Desktop-only APIs (Window, WindowState, Tray, MenuBar, Dialog), (2) keyboard shortcuts and menu systems with OS-aware conventions (Cmd vs Ctrl, isMacOS branching), (3) desktop navigation (NavigationRail...
BY vitorpamplonaUPDATED Oct 27, 2026
INTENDED FOR✳Claude Code>_Codex◈OpenClaw↗CursorInstall in a listed agent.
instructions.md
---
name: desktop-expert
description: Desktop JVM shim in desktopApp/: AmethystDesktop window, DesktopMenuBar, platform ports, OS keyring; :desktopApp:run, packaging. Use when touching desktopApp, or to run/screenshot the shared UI headless (tools/desktop-run, Xvfb) to verify a UI change. NOT for writing shared screens.
---
# Desktop (JVM shim)
`desktopApp` is a **shim**: it opens a window and renders the same `AmethystApp` Android renders.
Screens, the navigation shell (bottom bar / rail / drawer, chosen by `ScreenLayoutSpec`) and the
deck are shared UI in `commonsUI` — see AGENTS.md "Navigation Shell" and "Feature Workflow", and
`compose-expert`. Never add a desktop-only screen or a desktop-specific navigation layout.
Background: `commons/plans/2026-09-27-one-ui-android-desktop.md`,
`commons/plans/2026-10-09-legacy-desktop-retirement.md` (the legacy desktop app is gone).
## Where things live (`desktopApp/src/jvmMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/desktop/`)
| File | Role |
|---|---|
| `app/AmethystDesktop.kt` | `main()`: macOS AWT properties, data dir, `DesktopAppModules`, the `Window`, the CompositionLocals (`LocalAppPlatform`, `LocalNotePlatform`, …) around `AmethystApp`. `--publish-scheduled` runs headless (OS timer publishing scheduled posts). |
| `app/DesktopAppModules.kt` | The desktop graph (Android's `AppModules` minus phone-only parts). |
| `app/DesktopAppRoot.kt` | `AppRoot` impl; `jvmDestinations`. |
| `app/DesktopAppPlatform.kt` | `AppPlatform` (commonsUI `ui/platform/`); unoverridden members keep the default, which hides the feature. |
| `app/DesktopNotePlatform.kt`, `DesktopRichTextPlatform.kt` | `NotePlatform`, `RichTextPlatform` (commonsUI). |
| `app/DesktopAccountViewModelHost.kt`, `DesktopLocalCacheHost.kt`, `DesktopAppServices.kt` | `AccountViewModelHost`, `LocalCacheHost`, `AppServices` (commons). |
| `app/DesktopMenuBar.kt` | `DesktopNavigator`, the `Command` enum, `DesktopMenuBar`, `handleShortcut`. |
| `app/Legacy*Import.kt` | One-time import of the retired legacy app's accounts, deck, feeds, privacy lock. |
| `platform/PlatformInfo.kt` | `PlatformInfo.current` / `host`, `isMacOS`, `isWindows`, `isLinux`, `isGnome`, `isKde`. |
| `platform/SavedWindowBounds.kt` | Window position/size persisted to `window-bounds.properties`. |
| `platform/WaylandDisplay.kt`, `platform/AppWindow.kt` | Native Wayland: `WLToolkit` picked in `main()` on a Wayland session (`AMETHYST_X11=1` opts out); `AppWindow` is Compose's `Window` elsewhere and a Swing-drawn frame there. Open new top-level windows with `AppWindow`, never `Window`/`ComposeDialog`. |
| `platform/DesktopUiScale.kt` | X11 at a fractional scale (`Xft.dpi` 120 = 125%, `AMETHYST_SCALE` by hand): AWT draws whole scales only, so `AppWindow` raises Compose's density by the rest. `LocalDensity` is then not AWT's scale: convert AWT window/event coordinates with `awtPixelScale(component)`, and size AWT windows in AWT units. |
| `account/`, `tor/`, `network/`, `service/`, `ui/media/` | Account storage, Tor, HTTP, scheduled posts, video/audio players. |
| `update/` | Self-update: `InstallChannel` (how this copy was installed: DMG, Homebrew, MSI, zip, AppImage, tarball, .deb/.rpm, Flatpak), `DesktopUpdateInstaller` + `UpdateHelperScripts` (stage, then swap after quit), `UpdateDownloader` (SHA-256 checked). The checker is commons `appupdate`; dev runs need `-Damethyst.update.devCheck=true`. |
A new shared feature that needs a desktop behaviour = a member on one of the ports above
(default in the interface, override here), not a desktop branch in the shared screen.
## Shortcuts and menu bar
- One `Command` enum in `DesktopMenuBar.kt` drives both. `Command.shortcut` is Cmd+key on macOS,
Ctrl+key elsewhere (`isMac = PlatformInfo.host == Platform.MACOS`).
- macOS: the system `MenuBar` carries the shortcuts. Linux/Windows get **no** menu bar (Swing draws
it inside the window); shortcuts go through `handleShortcut` from the window's `onPreviewKeyEvent`.
- Deck commands are ignored unless `DeckCommandBus.active`; held chords are de-duplicated
(`AUTO_REPEAT_WINDOW_MS`).
- Menu labels are `Res.string.*` (commonsUI strings, per AGENTS.md "Strings").
## OS detection
`PlatformInfo.current` honours an override (`-Damethyst.platform=GNOME` or `AMETHYST_PLATFORM`) to
preview another OS's theming; `PlatformInfo.host` is the real OS — use it for anything that touches
the actual system (menu bar, Cmd key, shell-outs).
## Keys
Keys go to the OS keyring through `SecureKeyStorage`
(`commons/src/jvmMain/.../commons/keystorage/SecureKeyStorage.kt`, `java-keyring`). Without one they
go to a NIP-49 password file (`PasswordKeyFile`), and a login can opt out of keeping its key. The
status, prompts and Settings › Key storage are shared (`KeyStorageController`, provided by
`DesktopAppRoot.keyStorage`); see `commons/plans/2026-10-12-desktop-key-storage.md`.
The keyring breaks in release builds only, so test the packaged app: `Amethyst --keyring-self-test`
(CI runs it through `keyring-self-test.sh` in the repo's top-level scripts folder). ProGuard must keep jkeychain's native library and
dbus-java's ServiceLoader transport, and drop the signatures of jars it rewrites (hkdf):
`desktopApp/compose-rules.pro`, `verifyJkeychainNativeSurvivesProguard`,
`verifyDbusTransportSurvivesProguard`.
## Run and package
```bash
./gradlew :desktopApp:run # JDK 21 toolchain (jvmToolchain(21))
./gradlew :desktopApp:run -Damethyst.dataDir=/tmp/amy-test # separate profile; -Damethyst.debug=true for DEBUG logs
./gradlew :desktopApp:packageDmg # macOS; packageMsi (Windows), packageDeb / packageRpm (Linux)
```
- `mainClass = "com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.desktop.app.AmethystDesktopKt"`. Data lives in
`~/.amethyst/app` unless `amethyst.dataDir` is set.
- Packages land in `desktopApp/build/compose/binaries/main/` (release variants in `main-release/`).
- **Stop a running app before rebuilding shared modules.** A build rewrites the jars the running
`:desktopApp:run` JVM loaded and it crashes with `NoClassDefFoundError`. Relaunch it afterwards.
- Build fails? Check `java -version` (21+), then that `./gradlew :commons:compileKotlinJvm` resolves quartz and compiles.
## Verify a UI change by running it (headless too)
The window renders the shared UI, so this is how an agent checks a `commonsUI`/`commons` change for
real (AGENTS.md "Run the app before calling a UI change done"). `tools/desktop-run/` does it without
a display or a window manager: `run-headless.sh start` runs Xvfb + `:desktopApp:run` on a scratch
profile (`/tmp/amethyst-desktop-run/profile`), waits for the first paint and saves `shot.png`;
`Drive.java` (pure JDK `java.awt.Robot`) clicks, types, presses keys, scrolls and takes screenshots.
Read the screenshots with the image-reading tool. Details: `tools/desktop-run/README.md`.
- Log in with a public `npub` for a read-only session. A throwaway Sign Up account is only for flows
that must sign, and only when asked, because it publishes to real relays.
- The screen size picks the shell: `AMETHYST_SCREEN=480x900x24` gives the phone layout (bottom bar),
the default 1600x1000 gives the permanent drawer + docked notifications. Use a new
`AMETHYST_DISPLAY` per size.
- Linux packages bundle the JetBrains Runtime (build on `jbrsdk` 21, see BUILDING.md "Wayland and X11
on Linux"); `scripts/wayland-smoke-test.sh <launcher>` checks one on a sway with no Xwayland.
- Under Xvfb: no GL (the script sets `SKIKO_RENDER_API=SOFTWARE`), no keyring (password-file
fallback), no native video player ("Can't play this video"). Those are the environment, not your
change. `run-headless.sh logs` lists exceptions first.
- Never `pkill -f AmethystDesktopKt` from a tool shell: it matches the shell itself. Use `stop`.
For a check that must keep passing, write a Compose UI test (`createComposeRule()`, see
`desktopApp/src/jvmTest/.../desktop/ui/BlockInteractionsUiTest.kt`); CI runs them under
`xvfb-run --auto-servernum ./gradlew :desktopApp:test`.
Tests: `./gradlew :desktopApp:test` (a plain JVM module: sources sit in `src/jvmTest` but the task
is `test`); `desktopApp/src/jvmTest/.../desktop/testrelay/` has an in-process relay fixture
(`LaunchFixtureRelay`).
---
name: desktop-expert
description: Desktop JVM shim in desktopApp/: AmethystDesktop window, DesktopMenuBar, platform ports, OS keyring; :desktopApp:run, packaging. Use when touching desktopApp, or to run/screenshot the shared UI headless (tools/desktop-run, Xvfb) to verify a UI change. NOT for writing shared screens.
---
# Desktop (JVM shim)
`desktopApp` is a **shim**: it opens a window and renders the same `AmethystApp` Android renders.
Screens, the navigation shell (bottom bar / rail / drawer, chosen by `ScreenLayoutSpec`) and the
deck are shared UI in `commonsUI` — see AGENTS.md "Navigation Shell" and "Feature Workflow", and
`compose-expert`. Never add a desktop-only screen or a desktop-specific navigation layout.
Background: `commons/plans/2026-09-27-one-ui-android-desktop.md`,
`commons/plans/2026-10-09-legacy-desktop-retirement.md` (the legacy desktop app is gone).
## Where things live (`desktopApp/src/jvmMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/desktop/`)
| File | Role |
|---|---|
| `app/AmethystDesktop.kt` | `main()`: macOS AWT properties, data dir, `DesktopAppModules`, the `Window`, the CompositionLocals (`LocalAppPlatform`, `LocalNotePlatform`, …) around `AmethystApp`. `--publish-scheduled` runs headless (OS timer publishing scheduled posts). |
| `app/DesktopAppModules.kt` | The desktop graph (Android's `AppModules` minus phone-only parts). |
| `app/DesktopAppRoot.kt` | `AppRoot` impl; `jvmDestinations`. |
| `app/DesktopAppPlatform.kt` | `AppPlatform` (commonsUI `ui/platform/`); unoverridden members keep the default, which hides the feature. |
| `app/DesktopNotePlatform.kt`, `DesktopRichTextPlatform.kt` | `NotePlatform`, `RichTextPlatform` (commonsUI). |
| `app/DesktopAccountViewModelHost.kt`, `DesktopLocalCacheHost.kt`, `DesktopAppServices.kt` | `AccountViewModelHost`, `LocalCacheHost`, `AppServices` (commons). |
| `app/DesktopMenuBar.kt` | `DesktopNavigator`, the `Command` enum, `DesktopMenuBar`, `handleShortcut`. |
| `app/Legacy*Import.kt` | One-time import of the retired legacy app's accounts, deck, feeds, privacy lock. |
| `platform/PlatformInfo.kt` | `PlatformInfo.current` / `host`, `isMacOS`, `isWindows`, `isLinux`, `isGnome`, `isKde`. |
| `platform/SavedWindowBounds.kt` | Window position/size persisted to `window-bounds.properties`. |
| `platform/WaylandDisplay.kt`, `platform/AppWindow.kt` | Native Wayland: `WLToolkit` picked in `main()` on a Wayland session (`AMETHYST_X11=1` opts out); `AppWindow` is Compose's `Window` elsewhere and a Swing-drawn frame there. Open new top-level windows with `AppWindow`, never `Window`/`ComposeDialog`. |
| `platform/DesktopUiScale.kt` | X11 at a fractional scale (`Xft.dpi` 120 = 125%, `AMETHYST_SCALE` by hand): AWT draws whole scales only, so `AppWindow` raises Compose's density by the rest. `LocalDensity` is then not AWT's scale: convert AWT window/event coordinates with `awtPixelScale(component)`, and size AWT windows in AWT units. |
| `account/`, `tor/`, `network/`, `service/`, `ui/media/` | Account storage, Tor, HTTP, scheduled posts, video/audio players. |
| `update/` | Self-update: `InstallChannel` (how this copy was installed: DMG, Homebrew, MSI, zip, AppImage, tarball, .deb/.rpm, Flatpak), `DesktopUpdateInstaller` + `UpdateHelperScripts` (stage, then swap after quit), `UpdateDownloader` (SHA-256 checked). The checker is commons `appupdate`; dev runs need `-Damethyst.update.devCheck=true`. |
A new shared feature that needs a desktop behaviour = a member on one of the ports above
(default in the interface, override here), not a desktop branch in the shared screen.
## Shortcuts and menu bar
- One `Command` enum in `DesktopMenuBar.kt` drives both. `Command.shortcut` is Cmd+key on macOS,
Ctrl+key elsewhere (`isMac = PlatformInfo.host == Platform.MACOS`).
- macOS: the system `MenuBar` carries the shortcuts. Linux/Windows get **no** menu bar (Swing draws
it inside the window); shortcuts go through `handleShortcut` from the window's `onPreviewKeyEvent`.
- Deck commands are ignored unless `DeckCommandBus.active`; held chords are de-duplicated
(`AUTO_REPEAT_WINDOW_MS`).
- Menu labels are `Res.string.*` (commonsUI strings, per AGENTS.md "Strings").
## OS detection
`PlatformInfo.current` honours an override (`-Damethyst.platform=GNOME` or `AMETHYST_PLATFORM`) to
preview another OS's theming; `PlatformInfo.host` is the real OS — use it for anything that touches
the actual system (menu bar, Cmd key, shell-outs).
## Keys
Keys go to the OS keyring through `SecureKeyStorage`
(`commons/src/jvmMain/.../commons/keystorage/SecureKeyStorage.kt`, `java-keyring`). Without one they
go to a NIP-49 password file (`PasswordKeyFile`), and a login can opt out of keeping its key. The
status, prompts and Settings › Key storage are shared (`KeyStorageController`, provided by
`DesktopAppRoot.keyStorage`); see `commons/plans/2026-10-12-desktop-key-storage.md`.
The keyring breaks in release builds only, so test the packaged app: `Amethyst --keyring-self-test`
(CI runs it through `keyring-self-test.sh` in the repo's top-level scripts folder). ProGuard must keep jkeychain's native library and
dbus-java's ServiceLoader transport, and drop the signatures of jars it rewrites (hkdf):
`desktopApp/compose-rules.pro`, `verifyJkeychainNativeSurvivesProguard`,
`verifyDbusTransportSurvivesProguard`.
## Run and package
```bash
./gradlew :desktopApp:run # JDK 21 toolchain (jvmToolchain(21))
./gradlew :desktopApp:run -Damethyst.dataDir=/tmp/amy-test # separate profile; -Damethyst.debug=true for DEBUG logs
./gradlew :desktopApp:packageDmg # macOS; packageMsi (Windows), packageDeb / packageRpm (Linux)
```
- `mainClass = "com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.desktop.app.AmethystDesktopKt"`. Data lives in
`~/.amethyst/app` unless `amethyst.dataDir` is set.
- Packages land in `desktopApp/build/compose/binaries/main/` (release variants in `main-release/`).
- **Stop a running app before rebuilding shared modules.** A build rewrites the jars the running
`:desktopApp:run` JVM loaded and it crashes with `NoClassDefFoundError`. Relaunch it afterwards.
- Build fails? Check `java -version` (21+), then that `./gradlew :commons:compileKotlinJvm` resolves quartz and compiles.
## Verify a UI change by running it (headless too)
The window renders the shared UI, so this is how an agent checks a `commonsUI`/`commons` change for
real (AGENTS.md "Run the app before calling a UI change done"). `tools/desktop-run/` does it without
a display or a window manager: `run-headless.sh start` runs Xvfb + `:desktopApp:run` on a scratch
profile (`/tmp/amethyst-desktop-run/profile`), waits for the first paint and saves `shot.png`;
`Drive.java` (pure JDK `java.awt.Robot`) clicks, types, presses keys, scrolls and takes screenshots.
Read the screenshots with the image-reading tool. Details: `tools/desktop-run/README.md`.
- Log in with a public `npub` for a read-only session. A throwaway Sign Up account is only for flows
that must sign, and only when asked, because it publishes to real relays.
- The screen size picks the shell: `AMETHYST_SCREEN=480x900x24` gives the phone layout (bottom bar),
the default 1600x1000 gives the permanent drawer + docked notifications. Use a new
`AMETHYST_DISPLAY` per size.
- Linux packages bundle the JetBrains Runtime (build on `jbrsdk` 21, see BUILDING.md "Wayland and X11
on Linux"); `scripts/wayland-smoke-test.sh <launcher>` checks one on a sway with no Xwayland.
- Under Xvfb: no GL (the script sets `SKIKO_RENDER_API=SOFTWARE`), no keyring (password-file
fallback), no native video player ("Can't play this video"). Those are the environment, not your
change. `run-headless.sh logs` lists exceptions first.
- Never `pkill -f AmethystDesktopKt` from a tool shell: it matches the shell itself. Use `stop`.
For a check that must keep passing, write a Compose UI test (`createComposeRule()`, see
`desktopApp/src/jvmTest/.../desktop/ui/BlockInteractionsUiTest.kt`); CI runs them under
`xvfb-run --auto-servernum ./gradlew :desktopApp:test`.
Tests: `./gradlew :desktopApp:test` (a plain JVM module: sources sit in `src/jvmTest` but the task
is `test`); `desktopApp/src/jvmTest/.../desktop/testrelay/` has an in-process relay fixture
(`LaunchFixtureRelay`).
COMPATIBILITY & REFERENCES
Platform guidance
Imported from the listed AgentSkill.sh category. Complete supplied package files and notices are retained. Required external tools and credentials are not installed. No bundled code was executed during import. Individual agent task behavior has not been tested.
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