Zeus | Electron based AI desktop App

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Rust toolchain (for sidecar)
• Python 3 with deps for optional ML features (scripts/requirements-audio.txt)

Development

cd zeus-electron
npm install
npm run dev

You do not need npm run build for dev. electron-vite dev opens the Electron window with hot reload on UI changes.

On first run, npm run dev automatically compiles the Rust sidecar (debug, faster). After that, startup is immediate unless you change Rust code.

If you changed Rust/backend code:

npm run build:sidecar:dev   # fast debug rebuild
# or
npm run build:sidecar       # optimized release build

Then restart npm run dev.

Production build

npm run pack:win

Output (Windows):

File	Purpose
release/Zeus Setup 0.1.0.exe	Installer (this is what you distribute)
release/win-unpacked/Zeus.exe	Portable app with the Zeus owl icon

The Rust sidecar is bundled inside the app as zeus-sidecar.exe (not a separate shortcut).

Cross-platform: npm run pack (builds for the current OS).

Data directory

~/.zeus/ (models, SQLite DB, logs, outputs).