AppPilot is a Linux desktop application manager built with Tauri, React, TypeScript, and Rust. It helps users discover installed software, inspect desktop launchers, review package-manager status, and safely launch or manage applications from local sources without exposing unrestricted shell access to the UI.

AppPilot is designed for Ubuntu-based and Zorin OS-style Linux desktops. It focuses on

• fast local discovery of desktop applications,
• clear source attribution for APT, Flatpak, Snap, and local launcher entries,
• package-manager integration with explicit privilege checks,
• safe launch and package operations,
• a polished desktop experience with a compact app catalog and details panel.

This repository contains the first working implementation of the AppPilot shell and desktop discovery layer. The front-end is implemented in React + TypeScript and is validated with a production build. The Rust backend handles desktop-entry discovery, startup application inspection, process metadata, and validated package actions. Full native Tauri packaging is currently limited by missing GTK system libraries in this build environment.

• Primary target: Ubuntu-based Linux desktop environments
• Secondary candidate: Zorin OS 18-style distributions
• Architecture: x86_64 Linux

• Sidebar-based desktop navigation
• Search and source filtering for app catalog entries
• Desktop entry parsing for user/system application directories
• Startup application detection and basic process inspection
• Package-manager status detection for APT, Flatpak, and Snap
• Assistant-style package action validation with pkexec checks
• Dark/light theme toggle
• Real local data only; no fake statistics or fabricated app catalog

• Frontend: React + TypeScript + Vite
• Desktop shell: Tauri 2
• Native logic: Rust
• Data sources: desktop-entry files, process metadata, and command availability checks

Requirements:

• Node.js 20+
• npm 9+
• Rust stable toolchain
• Tauri runtime dependencies for Linux

Install and run:

npm install
npx -p node@20 -- npm run dev

For production validation:

npx -p node@20 -- npm run build

The project’s frontend build succeeds in this environment. The native Tauri build is blocked by missing GTK system libraries, specifically gdk-3.0.pc and related development packages. The exact error observed is:

Package gdk-3.0 was not found in the pkg-config search path.

On Debian/Ubuntu systems, this is typically resolved with the Linux Tauri dependencies installed via the package manager, for example:

sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libgtk-3-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
  libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev

If those packages are not available on the system, the native bundle cannot compile until the required libraries are installed.

• No credentials are embedded in source code.
• Package operations only run through validated command arguments.
• Privileged actions require pkexec when supported.
• Frontend components do not expose unrestricted shell capability.
• There is no hidden telemetry or automatic remote network call in the app logic.

The project is structured for Tauri desktop execution after native dependencies are present:

npx -p node@20 -- npm install
cargo test --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml
npx -p node@20 -- npm run build

Contributions are welcome. Please open an issue or pull request with a concise explanation of the change and validation steps. Keep changes focused, testable, and consistent with the Linux desktop security model.

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.