Lean Electron menu-bar app for freellmapi: runs the whole router locally on 127.0.0.1:31415, with a dark-glass tray popover (live 24h request chart, quick stats, copy URL/key) and the full dashboard in a native-feeling window.

The app lives in the main repo (desktop/) and builds against the server and client sources in the same checkout — no extra setup, no published binaries: you build it yourself (a few minutes, commands below).

Prerequisites

Node.js 20+
A native build toolchain for better-sqlite3:
- macOS — Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)
- Windows — Visual Studio Build Tools ("Desktop development with C++")

Build it yourself

From the repo root (one-time client build + package):

npm install
npm install --prefix desktop  # install desktop dependencies
npm run desktop:dist          # macOS → desktop/dist-electron/FreeLLMAPI-…-arm64.dmg
npm run desktop:dist:win      # Windows → desktop/dist-electron/FreeLLMAPI-…-x64 installer

Locally built apps don't carry the macOS quarantine attribute or Windows Mark-of-the-Web, so they launch without Gatekeeper/SmartScreen warnings — no code signing needed.

The Windows build is config-complete but largely untested — issues and PRs welcome.

Develop

cd desktop
npm install
npm run rebuild:native   # better-sqlite3 against Electron's ABI (dev loop only)
npm run dev              # bundle + launch

The dev run serves the repo's own client/dist — build it first (npm run build -w client from the root) or use npm run desktop:dev from the root, which does both. FREEAPI_REPO=/path/to/checkout overrides the client/server source location if you ever need a different one.

UI iteration helpers (dev only): FREEAPI_SHOT=1 npx electron . captures the popover + dashboard to /tmp and quits; FREEAPI_SHOT=hold pins the popover open for real-screen captures.

Notes

DB + config live in ~/Library/Application Support/FreeLLMAPI/ (macOS) / %APPDATA%/FreeLLMAPI/ (Windows).
The server binds loopback only; default port 31415, scan-up on conflict, resolved port persisted.
Do not run plain npm rebuild here — it rebuilds better-sqlite3 for the system Node ABI and breaks the Electron dev loop (npm run rebuild:native fixes it). Packaging rebuilds natives itself.