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Desktop App

The Dioxus desktop app is gated behind the desktop feature. macOS needs no additional packages because WebKit and CoreBluetooth are provided by the OS.

On Ubuntu or Debian, install the native development libraries:

sudo apt-get install -y \
  pkg-config \
  libgtk-3-dev \
  libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
  libayatana-appindicator3-dev \
  libxdo-dev

Running

Run the app through the Dioxus CLI, from the crates/app directory:

cargo install dioxus-cli   # once, provides `dx`
cd crates/app
dx serve --features desktop --platform desktop

dx resolves the asset!() stylesheet and writes the macOS bundle to target/dx/netprov-app/debug/macos/NetprovApp.app, which can be launched directly once built.

Running the binary straight out of cargo build -p netprov-app --features desktop starts an unstyled window: asset!() paths are resolved by dx, so a plain Cargo binary loads no stylesheet. Use dx (or the bundle it produces) for anything you intend to look at.

The app communicates with target devices over BLE. TCP remains a development and protocol-regression path.

Startup

The app scans for nearby devices as soon as it opens, so the device list is populated without any action; “Scan again” repeats the scan.

Connection settings

The peer identifier and PSK path live under “Advanced connection”. Both are remembered after a successful connection and restored on the next launch — a failed connection is never persisted, so a typo does not become the new default.

The PSK path may also be given on the command line, which takes precedence over the stored value:

dx serve --features desktop --platform desktop -- --key-path ~/.netprov/key
# or, against an already-built bundle:
target/dx/netprov-app/debug/macos/NetprovApp.app/Contents/MacOS/netprov-app \
  --key-path ~/.netprov/key

-k is accepted as a short form, matching the netprov CLI. With neither a flag nor a stored value the path defaults to /etc/netprov/key, where netprovd installs the PSK.

Resolution order for the PSK path is therefore: --key-path, then the stored value, then /etc/netprov/key.

Where the settings live

PlatformPath
macOS~/Library/Application Support/com.rosterloh.NetprovApp/connection.conf
Other$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/netprov/connection.conf, else ~/.config/netprov/connection.conf

The file is key = value lines holding peer and key_path. It records the path to the PSK, never key bytes, so it is not a secret — the PSK itself stays wherever that path points. Delete the file to forget the device.

Writes are best-effort: if the directory cannot be created or written, the app still connects, it just will not remember the values.

Bundle identifier

crates/app/Dioxus.toml sets the bundle identifier to com.rosterloh.NetprovApp. macOS keys both per-app Bluetooth consent and the Application Support directory by this value, so changing it re-prompts for Bluetooth permission and orphans any previously stored connection.conf. The constant in crates/app/src/settings.rs must be kept in step with it.