Architecture

OpenPawz is a Tauri v2 desktop application with a Rust backend and TypeScript frontend.

System overview

Tauri Shell

TypeScript Frontend

Views · Feature Modules · IPC Bridge

↕ IPC (invoke / events)

Rust Engine

Agent Loop · Providers · Channels · Memory · Skills · Orchestrator · Sandbox

↕

SQLite Database

sessions · messages · memories · tasks · skills · agents · projects · trades

Extensibility — Three-Tier System

Pawz has a three-tier extensibility architecture. Each tier adds more power over the previous.

Tier 3 — Extensions

Custom sidebar views · Dashboard widgets · Persistent data
pawz-skill.toml + [view] + [storage]

Tier 2 — Integrations

Credential vault · API access · CLI binaries · Widgets
pawz-skill.toml + [[credentials]] + [instructions]

Tier 1 — Skills

Prompt injection only · Zero config · SKILL.md format
skills.sh ecosystem · Agent-installable

Tier	Format	Capabilities
Skill	`SKILL.md`	Prompt injection, zero config
Integration	`pawz-skill.toml`	+ Credentials, binary detection, widgets
Extension	`pawz-skill.toml` + `[view]`/`[storage]`	+ Custom sidebar views, persistent data

Skill loading pipeline

Agent prompt assembly

For full details: Skills · Integrations · Extensions · PawzHub

Frontend (`src/`)

Vanilla TypeScript with DOM manipulation — no framework. Each view is a module that renders into the main content area.

Views

View	File	Purpose
Today	`views/today/`	Dashboard with quick actions
Agents	`views/agents/`	Create, edit, manage agents
Tasks	`views/tasks/`	Kanban task board
Skills	`views/skills/`	Skill vault management
Research	`views/research/`	Research workflow
Orchestrator	`views/orchestrator/`	Multi-agent projects
Memory Palace	`views/memory-palace/`	Memory browser/search
Mail	`views/mail/`	Email integration
Trading	`views/trading/`	Trading dashboard
Automations	`views/automations/`	Cron task management
Settings	`views/settings-*/`	11 settings tabs

Feature modules (`src/features/`)

Atomic design pattern — each feature has atoms.ts (data/state), molecules.ts (UI components), and index.ts (exports).

Module	Purpose
`agent-policies`	Tool allowlist/denylist per agent
`browser-sandbox`	Browser config and network policy
`channel-routing`	Message routing rules
`container-sandbox`	Docker sandbox config
`memory-intelligence`	Memory search and config
`prompt-injection`	Injection detection patterns
`session-compaction`	Session summarization
`slash-commands`	Chat slash command definitions

Flow engine (`src/views/flows/`)

The visual workflow builder has its own execution engine built on the Conductor Protocol — an optimizer that detects parallelism, convergence, and higher-dimensional structures in flow graphs.

Module	Purpose
`executor.ts`	Main flow executor — graph traversal, memory pre-recall, agent step dispatch
`executor-conductor.ts`	Conductor Protocol runtime — parallel execution, tesseract cell dispatch, per-cell memory isolation
`executor-atoms.ts`	Shared flow types — `FlowRunState`, `buildNodePrompt()`, `cellMemoryContexts`
`conductor-atoms.ts`	Conductor types — `ExecutionUnit`, `ExecutionStrategy`, strategy compilation, `shouldUseConductor()` detection
`conductor-tesseract.ts`	Tesseract primitive — cell detection, BFS depth, subgraph building, `findCellSinkNode`, `mergeAtHorizon`
`simulation-runtime.ts`	Simulation mirror of the production executor for debug / dry-run mode

IPC bridge (`src/engine-bridge.ts`)

All communication with the Rust backend goes through Tauri’s invoke() and event system. The bridge provides typed wrappers for every engine command.

Backend (`src-tauri/src/engine/`)

Rust async engine built on Tokio.

Core modules

Module	Purpose
`agent_loop/`	Agent conversation loop with yield signal and request queue
`chat.rs`	System prompt builder, tool assembly, loop detection
`state.rs`	Engine state (YieldSignal, RequestQueue, active runs)
`providers/`	AI provider factory and routing
`channels/`	Channel bridge message handler
`memory/`	Hybrid search (BM25 + vector + temporal)
`skills/`	Skill catalog and credential vault
`orchestrator/`	Multi-agent project execution
`sandbox.rs`	Docker container execution
`tools/`	Tool dispatch and execution
`sessions/`	Session and message persistence
`compaction.rs`	Session compaction/summarization
`http.rs`	Retry logic, circuit breaker, TLS-pinned client factory, request signing audit log
`routing.rs`	Channel-to-agent routing
`injection.rs`	Prompt injection detection

Channel bridges

Each channel has its own bridge module: telegram.rs · discord.rs · slack.rs · matrix.rs · irc.rs · mattermost.rs · nextcloud.rs · nostr.rs · twitch.rs · webchat.rs · whatsapp/

Provider implementations

Implementation	Providers
`OpenAiProvider`	OpenAI, Ollama, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Grok, Mistral, Moonshot, Custom
`AnthropicProvider`	Anthropic
`GoogleProvider`	Google Gemini

Database

Pawz uses two SQLite databases — one managed by the Rust engine, one by the TypeScript frontend.

Engine database (Rust — `rusqlite`)

Table	Contents
`sessions`	Chat sessions per agent (id, label, model, system_prompt, agent_id, timestamps)
`messages`	All messages with role, content, tool calls JSON, tool_call_id, name
`engine_config`	Key-value configuration store for engine settings
`agent_files`	Agent personality files (SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, etc.) per agent
`memories`	Stored facts with embedding vectors, category, importance, timestamps
`tasks`	Kanban tasks with title, description, status, priority, cron schedule, model override
`task_activity`	Task activity feed (created, assigned, status_change, agent_started, etc.)
`task_agents`	Multi-agent task assignments (agent_id, role: lead/collaborator)
`projects`	Orchestrator projects with title, goal, status, boss_agent
`project_agents`	Project agent assignments (role, specialty, status, current_task, model)
`project_messages`	Inter-agent messages (delegation, progress, result, error)
`trade_history`	Trading records (trade, transfer, dex_swap) with amounts and status
`positions`	Open trading positions with stop-loss/take-profit targets
`skill_credentials`	Encrypted API keys and secrets per skill
`skill_state`	Enabled/disabled state per skill
`skill_custom_instructions`	User-edited skill instructions (overrides defaults)
`community_skills`	Installed community skills from skills.sh ecosystem (name, description, instructions, source, enabled)

Frontend database (TypeScript — `@tauri-apps/plugin-sql`)

Table	Contents
`agent_modes`	Chat modes (General, Code Review, Quick Chat) with model, prompt, temperature
`projects`	User workspace projects (build, research, create)
`project_files`	Files within workspace projects (path, content, language)
`automation_runs`	Cron job execution history (job_id, status, output, error)
`research_findings`	Research findings with title, content, source URL
`content_documents`	Content Studio documents (markdown, HTML, plaintext)
`email_accounts`	Email account configuration (IMAP/SMTP hosts, ports)
`emails`	Cached emails with body, read/starred status, agent draft fields
`credential_activity_log`	Audit trail for every credential access (action, tool, was_allowed)
`security_audit_log`	Security events (exec_approval, config_change, auto_deny, etc.)
`security_rules`	User-defined allow/deny patterns for command execution

Canvas database (Rust — `rusqlite`)

Table	Contents
`canvases`	Canvas workspaces (title, timestamps)
`canvas_nodes`	Nodes on a canvas (type, position, size, data)
`canvas_edges`	Edges connecting canvas nodes (source, target, label)

:::info Sensitive fields in the frontend database are encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a key stored in the OS keychain. Encrypted values are prefixed with enc: for identification. :::

IPC bridge architecture

All communication between the TypeScript frontend and Rust backend uses Tauri’s IPC system. The bridge (src/engine/molecules/ipc_client.ts) provides typed wrappers for every invoke command.

Invoke commands (Frontend → Backend)

Commands are called via invoke() and return Promises:

Category	Commands
Chat	`engine_chat_send`, `engine_chat_history`
Sessions	`engine_sessions_list`, `engine_session_rename`, `engine_session_delete`, `engine_session_clear`, `engine_session_compact`
Config	`engine_get_config`, `engine_set_config`, `engine_upsert_provider`, `engine_remove_provider`, `engine_status`, `engine_auto_setup`
Agent files	`engine_agent_file_list`, `engine_agent_file_get`, `engine_agent_file_set`, `engine_agent_file_delete`
Memory	`engine_memory_store`, `engine_memory_search`, `engine_memory_list`, `engine_memory_delete`, `engine_memory_stats`, `engine_get_memory_config`, `engine_set_memory_config`, `engine_test_embedding`, `engine_embedding_status`, `engine_embedding_pull_model`, `engine_ensure_embedding_ready`, `engine_memory_backfill`
Skills	`engine_skills_list`, `engine_skill_set_enabled`, `engine_skill_set_credential`, `engine_skill_delete_credential`, `engine_skill_revoke_all`, `engine_skill_get_instructions`, `engine_skill_set_instructions`
Community Skills	`engine_community_skills_list`, `engine_community_skills_browse`, `engine_community_skills_search`, `engine_community_skill_install`, `engine_community_skill_remove`, `engine_community_skill_set_enabled`
Tasks	`engine_tasks_list`, `engine_task_create`, `engine_task_update`, `engine_task_delete`, `engine_task_move`, `engine_task_activity`, `engine_task_set_agents`, `engine_task_run`, `engine_tasks_cron_tick`
TTS / STT	`engine_tts_speak`, `engine_tts_get_config`, `engine_tts_set_config`, `engine_tts_transcribe`
Trading	`engine_trading_history`, `engine_trading_summary`, `engine_trading_policy_get`, `engine_trading_policy_set`, `engine_positions_list`, `engine_position_close`, `engine_position_update_targets`
Projects	`engine_projects_list`, `engine_project_create`, `engine_project_update`, `engine_project_delete`, `engine_project_set_agents`, `engine_project_messages`, `engine_project_run`
Agents	`engine_list_all_agents`, `engine_create_agent`, `engine_delete_agent`, `engine_approve_tool`
Browser	`engine_browser_get_config`, `engine_browser_set_config`, `engine_browser_create_profile`, `engine_browser_delete_profile`
Screenshots	`engine_screenshots_list`, `engine_screenshot_get`, `engine_screenshot_delete`
Workspaces	`engine_workspaces_list`, `engine_workspace_files`, `engine_workspace_delete`
Network	`engine_network_get_policy`, `engine_network_set_policy`, `engine_network_check_url`
Channels	`engine_<channel>_start`, `engine_<channel>_stop`, `engine_<channel>_status`, `engine_<channel>_get_config`, `engine_<channel>_set_config`, `engine_<channel>_approve_user`, `engine_<channel>_deny_user`, `engine_<channel>_remove_user` (for telegram, discord, irc, slack, matrix, mattermost, nextcloud, nostr, twitch)
Tailscale	`engine_tailscale_status`, `engine_tailscale_get_config`, `engine_tailscale_set_config`, `engine_tailscale_serve_start`, `engine_tailscale_serve_stop`, `engine_tailscale_funnel_start`, `engine_tailscale_funnel_stop`, `engine_tailscale_connect`, `engine_tailscale_disconnect`
Email	`read_himalaya_config`, `write_himalaya_config`, `remove_himalaya_account`, `fetch_emails`, `fetch_email_content`, `send_email`, `move_email`, `delete_email`
Security	`get_db_encryption_key`

Agent built-in tools

Every agent has access to these built-in tools (defined in tools.rs, executed in tool_executor.rs):

Tool	Parameters	Description
`skill_search`	`query` (string)	Search the skills.sh directory for community skills by keyword
`skill_install`	`source` (owner/repo), `path` (skills/id/SKILL.md)	Install a community skill from GitHub
`skill_list`	—	List all installed community skills with enabled/disabled status

These tools allow agents to discover, install, and manage community skills during conversations without requiring the user to visit the Skills tab.

Events (Backend → Frontend)

The engine communicates with the frontend via Tauri’s event system for real-time updates. The frontend subscribes using listen() and the backend emits events asynchronously.

Event	Payload	Purpose
`engine-event`	`EngineEvent`	Streaming deltas, tool requests, tool results, completions, and errors
`project-event`	`{ project_id, agent_id, kind }`	Project/agent finished notifications
`agent-profile-updated`	`{ agent_id }`	Agent profile changes (name, avatar, bio)

EngineEvent kinds

The engine-event payload contains a kind field that determines the event type:

Kind	Fields	Description
`delta`	`text`, `session_id`, `run_id`	Streaming text chunk from the AI model
`tool_request`	`tool_call` (id, function name, arguments)	Agent wants to call a tool — may require human approval
`tool_result`	`tool_call_id`, `output`, `success`	Result of a tool execution
`complete`	`tool_calls_count`, `usage` (tokens), `model`	Agent turn completed
`error`	`message`	Error during agent execution

Event flow

Build pipeline

Pawz uses a dual build pipeline — Vite for the frontend and Cargo for the Rust backend, orchestrated by Tauri:

Development

pnpm tauri dev

Vite dev server starts on http://localhost:1420 (HMR enabled)
Cargo compiles the Rust backend in debug mode
Tauri launches the app window pointing at the Vite dev server
File changes in src/ trigger Vite HMR; changes in src-tauri/ trigger Cargo rebuild

Production build

pnpm tauri build

pnpm build — Vite bundles TypeScript → dist/ (optimized, minified)
cargo build --release — Compiles Rust backend with optimizations
Tauri packages both into a native installer (.dmg, .AppImage, .msi)

Build configuration

Config file	Purpose
`vite.config.ts`	Vite settings: port 1420, ignores `src-tauri/`, HMR on port 1421
`src-tauri/tauri.conf.json`	Tauri settings: `beforeDevCommand`, `beforeBuildCommand`, CSP policy, window config
`src-tauri/Cargo.toml`	Rust dependencies and build profile
`tsconfig.json`	TypeScript compiler options

Content Security Policy

The production CSP restricts the frontend:

default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline';
connect-src 'self' ws://127.0.0.1:* https://127.0.0.1:*;
img-src 'self' data: blob:; font-src 'self' data:;
object-src 'none'; frame-ancestors 'none'

Technology stack

Layer	Technology
Shell	Tauri v2
Frontend	TypeScript, vanilla DOM
Backend	Rust, Tokio async
Database	SQLite (rusqlite + @tauri-apps/plugin-sql)
HTTP	reqwest
Browser	headless_chrome (Chrome DevTools Protocol)
HTML parsing	scraper (Rust)
Docker	bollard
Build (frontend)	Vite
Build (backend)	Cargo
Icons	Material Symbols Outlined
Fonts	Inter, JetBrains Mono

Reference

Original Research

Architecture

Architecture

System overview

Tauri Shell

TypeScript Frontend

Rust Engine

SQLite Database

Extensibility — Three-Tier System

Tier 3 — Extensions

Tier 2 — Integrations

Tier 1 — Skills

Skill loading pipeline

Agent prompt assembly

Frontend (`src/`)

Views

Feature modules (`src/features/`)

Flow engine (`src/views/flows/`)

IPC bridge (`src/engine-bridge.ts`)

Backend (`src-tauri/src/engine/`)

Core modules

Channel bridges

Provider implementations

Database

Engine database (Rust — `rusqlite`)

Frontend database (TypeScript — `@tauri-apps/plugin-sql`)

Canvas database (Rust — `rusqlite`)

IPC bridge architecture

Invoke commands (Frontend → Backend)

Agent built-in tools

Events (Backend → Frontend)

EngineEvent kinds

Event flow

Build pipeline

Development

Production build

Build configuration

Content Security Policy

Technology stack

​Architecture

​System overview

Tauri Shell

TypeScript Frontend

Rust Engine

SQLite Database

​Extensibility — Three-Tier System

Tier 3 — Extensions

Tier 2 — Integrations

Tier 1 — Skills

​Skill loading pipeline

​Agent prompt assembly

​Frontend (src/)

​Views

​Feature modules (src/features/)

​Flow engine (src/views/flows/)

​IPC bridge (src/engine-bridge.ts)

​Backend (src-tauri/src/engine/)

​Core modules

​Channel bridges

​Provider implementations

​Database

​Engine database (Rust — rusqlite)

​Frontend database (TypeScript — @tauri-apps/plugin-sql)

​Canvas database (Rust — rusqlite)

​IPC bridge architecture

​Invoke commands (Frontend → Backend)

​Agent built-in tools

​Events (Backend → Frontend)

​EngineEvent kinds

​Event flow

​Build pipeline

​Development

​Production build

​Build configuration

​Content Security Policy

​Technology stack

Architecture

System overview

Extensibility — Three-Tier System

Skill loading pipeline

Agent prompt assembly

Frontend (`src/`)

Views

Feature modules (`src/features/`)

Flow engine (`src/views/flows/`)

IPC bridge (`src/engine-bridge.ts`)

Backend (`src-tauri/src/engine/`)

Core modules

Channel bridges

Provider implementations

Database

Engine database (Rust — `rusqlite`)

Frontend database (TypeScript — `@tauri-apps/plugin-sql`)

Canvas database (Rust — `rusqlite`)

IPC bridge architecture

Invoke commands (Frontend → Backend)

Agent built-in tools

Events (Backend → Frontend)

EngineEvent kinds

Event flow

Build pipeline

Development

Production build

Build configuration

Content Security Policy

Technology stack