Introduction

Deskapp is a desktop application framework for TypeScript on Deno Desktop. It gives you a complete, opinionated starting point for building a real cross-platform desktop app:

• Native windows with presets, plus system tray, application menus, context menus and dialogs
• A bindings system that auto-registers every backend controller handler on the window, so the UI calls the backend in-process — no HTTP, no IPC plumbing
• SQLite via Drizzle ORM, with schema generation, migrations and nexgen-style pagination
• A two-layer storage API: unlimited user-file operations plus an app-managed private/tmp area
• In-process job queue and cron scheduling
• A Vue 3 + Vite frontend with Bootstrap, already wired to the bindings global
• A maker CLI for scaffolding modules, models, seeders and controllers, and a bundler that ships a runnable app folder (plus optional bundled Chromium) for each OS

The mental model

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│  Deno backend (src/main.ts) │  windows · db · native · queue · cron
│          │  bindings (in-process)        │
│  Vue 3 webview (src/ui)     │  calls bindings['<module>.<controller>.setTitle']()
└─────────────────────────────┘

Everything runs in one Deno process. src/main.ts is the backend entrypoint, src/ui is the frontend, and the two communicate through auto-registered bindings rather than a network layer.

// In a controller (backend):
import { win } from "@/core/facade.ts";

export const setTitle = (title: string) => {
  win.getWindow()?.setTitle(title);
  return { ok: true, title };
};
export const handlers = { setTitle };

// In the UI:
await bindings["<module>.<controller>.setTitle"]("New Title");

Directory layout

A scaffolded project is a complete, self-contained folder (it IS the template/ of the package, copied as-is):

.vscode/               editor settings for Deno
src/
  window/              window presets, manager, native chrome, dialogs
  core/                framework: factory, bindings registry, database,
                       queue, scheduler, storage, validation, password,
                       playwright, maker CLI, bundle script
  database/            generated schema + SQLite migrations
  extensions/          holds extensions
  icons/               shared app icons (favicon, tray, png sets)
  modules/             your app's modules (controllers, models, seeders)
  storage/             app-managed data (private, tmp) - gitignored
  ui/                  Vue 3 + Vite frontend
  main.ts              backend entrypoint (Deno.serve + window boot)
.env / .env.example    environment
deno.json              tasks, desktop config, imports
drizzle.config.ts      Drizzle Kit configuration (SQLite)

The @niyam/deskapp JSR package is the scaffold: it ships this template plus a small ./create script that copies it into your project. This docs site is separate and never part of a scaffolded app.

Next steps

• Quick Start — scaffold a project in two minutes
• Architecture — how the pieces fit together
• Controllers & Bindings — the core UI→backend bridge