Electron IPC API

The channel contracts define calls and their argument and return types. Shared data types describe the payloads. The renderer calls main through window.electron.ipcRenderer.

Read the channel list

The call column uses three terms. invoke sends a request to main and returns a result. sendMessage sends a command without a result. on receives an event from main.

Events have no replay

Load initial state, such as the feed list, with invoke. Use on for later updates while the view is mounted.

app:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
app:back-up-database	invoke	Open the manual database backup dialog.
app:get-info	invoke	Get app details.
app:get-startup-health	invoke	Get database startup status.
app:reveal-database-file	sendMessage	Show the database file in the file manager.
app:reveal-log-file	sendMessage	Show the log file.
app:reveal-database-backup	sendMessage	Show the database backup.
app:restart	sendMessage	Restart the app.
app:set-window-theme	sendMessage	Match the window chrome to the selected theme.

feedpacks:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
feedpacks:list	invoke	Get the catalog.
feedpacks:preview	invoke	Read the sources in one pack.
feedpacks:install	invoke	Start a pack install in a workspace.
feedpacks:install-finished	on	Report the background refresh after install.

feeds:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
feeds:validate-feed-url	invoke	Resolve and fetch a feed entered by the user.
feeds:list-categories	invoke	Get categories in a workspace.
feeds:list	invoke	Get feeds in a workspace.
feeds:refresh	invoke	Refresh feeds now.
feeds:submit-add-feed	invoke	Save a validated feed.
feeds:delete-feed	invoke	Remove a feed from a workspace.
feeds:set-show-in-workspace	invoke	Set feed visibility in a workspace.
feeds:create-category	invoke	Add a category.
feeds:rename-category	invoke	Rename a category.
feeds:delete-category	invoke	Delete a category and reassign its feeds.
feeds:move-feeds-to-category	invoke	Move feeds to a category.
feeds:move-to-workspace	invoke	Move a feed between workspaces.
feeds:show-feed-context-menu	sendMessage	Open a feed’s native context menu.
feeds:show-category-context-menu	sendMessage	Open a category’s native context menu.
feeds:item-image-fetched	on	Receive an image found after refresh.
feeds:refreshed	on	Receive a background refresh summary.
feeds:delete-feed-requested	on	Handle a delete action from the context menu.
feeds:rename-category-requested	on	Handle a rename action from the context menu.
feeds:delete-category-requested	on	Handle a delete action from the context menu.

items:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
items:query	invoke	Get a page of river items.
items:set-read	invoke	Change item read state.
items:get-content	invoke	Get the body of a reader item.

link:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
link:open	sendMessage	Open an external link in the system browser.

log:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
log:write	sendMessage	Send a renderer log event to main.

opml:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
opml:import	invoke	Import feeds from an OPML file.
opml:export	invoke	Export one workspace as OPML.

settings:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
settings:get-refresh-interval	invoke	Get the scheduled refresh interval.
settings:set-refresh-interval	invoke	Set the scheduled refresh interval.
settings:get-refresh-on-launch	invoke	Get the launch refresh setting.
settings:set-refresh-on-launch	invoke	Set the launch refresh setting.
settings:get-retention-days	invoke	Get the item retention period.
settings:set-retention-days	invoke	Set the item retention period.
settings:get-detailed-logging	invoke	Get the detailed logging setting.
settings:set-detailed-logging	invoke	Set the detailed logging setting.

workspaces:*

Channel	Call	Purpose
workspaces:list	invoke	Get workspace summaries.
workspaces:create	invoke	Create a workspace.
workspaces:update	invoke	Change a workspace.
workspaces:delete	invoke	Delete a workspace.
workspaces:reorder	invoke	Set workspace order.
workspaces:show-context-menu	sendMessage	Open a workspace’s native context menu.
workspaces:edit-requested	on	Handle an edit action from the context menu.
workspaces:export-requested	on	Handle an export action from the context menu.
workspaces:delete-requested	on	Handle a delete action from the context menu.

Handle errors

Expected failures use the shared Result type. Callers handle tagged errors by name. An unexpected throw at the IPC boundary becomes an UNEXPECTED_ERROR with an incident ID.

Add or change a channel

Define the arguments and result in the channel contracts. Keep shared data shapes in the shared contracts. Main registers calls and listeners in its IPC folder. For an event to the renderer, use the typed send helpers and attach a listener with cleanup. Add a test at the boundary where behavior changes.