Preview: iPad companion over LAN and embedded Tailscale (#95)

[alexfoxtm]

What changed

Preview of the working Mac + iPad companion MVP from #95. Not a request to merge as-is — opening this as a draft so the source is reviewable next to the issue.

Mac Settings → Companion can serve the desktop over LAN and/or an embedded Tailscale node. The iPad app is a thin client of that Mac: same sessions, files, and agents, paired with a QR or 6-digit code. No Tailscale iOS app, no Network Extension, no public port.

Why

#95 asks whether this direction makes sense before sending a sliced PR. This branch is the prototype that produced the screenshots there.

UI

Source files: alexfoxtm/monocode-companion-shots.

Mac Companion connected (1 device), LAN + Tailscale QRs

iPad workspace after pair

iPad Settings → Companion

Mac Google sign-in

iPad pairing

How to try it

This snapshot is based on 0.1.34 (cb6e2df2), so it is behind current main. It is the tree that actually ran on the Mac + iPad, not a rebase.

Mac host

npm install
npm run tauri dev

Then Settings → Companion. Turn on Local network, Tailscale, or both. Pairing code + QR show per live route.

iPad client (needs Xcode, an iPad/simulator, Go for the tsnet c-archive)

npm install
npx tauri ios init   # generates src-tauri/gen (gitignored)
npx tauri ios dev

Swap bundle.iOS.developmentTeam in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json to your Apple team. First-run pairing: scan the Mac QR, or type host + 6-digit code.

Shape (same as #95)

• Desktop boot path stays LocalTransport. New code is additive.
• Wire protocol is JSON over ws://<host>:17233/v1/connect?token=…
• Native WebSocket on iOS (companion_ws) because WKWebView mixed content blocks a JS WebSocket to ws://LAN
• Mac embed: tailscale crate 0.5, Google SSO, DERP-only, experimental
• iPad embed: Go tsnet c-archive + Rust FFI, hostname monocode-ipad

Happy to shrink this into a first slice (LAN-only pairing, Mac settings + protocol, or iPad shell) if the direction is wanted.

Checklist

• I ran npm run check
• This PR is small and focused
• I did not mix unrelated changes

npm run check was not re-run on this snapshot before opening the draft. Treat this as a prototype dump for review, not CI-green merge bait.

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