Architecture

AeroFTP is built on Tauri 2, combining a Rust backend with a React 18 + TypeScript frontend rendered in the system WebView.

High-Level Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Frontend                      │
│         React 18 + TypeScript + Tailwind         │
│                  (src/)                           │
├──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────┤
│      Tauri IPC       │     Tauri Events          │
│    invoke() calls    │   emit() / listen()       │
├──────────────────────┴──────────────────────────┤
│                  Rust Backend                     │
│               (src-tauri/src/)                    │
│                                                   │
│  ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │
│  │Protocols │ │ AI Core  │ │  AeroVault       │ │
│  │(providers)│ │(streaming│ │  (AES-256-GCM-   │ │
│  │          │ │ + tools) │ │   SIV + Argon2id)│ │
│  └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────────────┘ │
│  ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │
│  │AeroSync  │ │ Plugins  │ │  Credential      │ │
│  │(journal, │ │(manifest │ │  Vault (JSON   │ │
│  │ verify)  │ │ + hooks) │ │  + AES-GCM)      │ │
│  └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Backend (src-tauri/src/)

The Rust backend handles all protocol communication, encryption, and system operations.

Key Modules

Module	Purpose
ai_stream.rs	SSE/NDJSON streaming for 26 AI provider types
ai_tools.rs	GUI AI tool bridge; canonical definitions and dispatch live in ai_core/
ai_core/	Abstraction layer: EventSink, CredentialProvider, RemoteBackend traits
sync.rs	AeroSync engine: journal, checksum, retry, verification
vault_v2.rs	AeroVault v2: AES-256-GCM-SIV chunked encryption
context_intelligence.rs	Project detection, file dependency graph, agent memory
plugins.rs	Plugin lifecycle: install, verify (SHA-256), execute, hooks
file_tags.rs	SQLite WAL-backed file tagging with 7 preset labels
cloud_provider_factory.rs	AeroCloud multi-protocol dispatch
license.rs	Ed25519 license verification (dev-only)

Protocol Providers

The providers/ modules implement StorageProvider for transports, native APIs and local/synthetic backends. The provider inventory records supported connection forms:

• Server protocols: FTP/FTPS (ftp.rs), SFTP (sftp.rs), WebDAV (webdav.rs), S3 (s3.rs)
• OAuth2 cloud: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, pCloud, Zoho WorkDrive, Internxt, kDrive, Koofr, Jottacloud
• API key / session: MEGA, Azure Blob, 4shared (OAuth 1.0), Filen, FileLu, Yandex Disk, OpenDrive, native Proton Drive and its optional official CLI mode
• Additional integrations: Swift, native Backblaze B2, GitHub, GitLab, Immich, Drime, Twake and media providers

The trait has required core methods and optional operations, including: connect, disconnect, list, upload, download, delete, rename, mkdir, stat, list_object_versions, restore_version, delete_version, empty_object_versions, create_share_link, storage_info, list_versions, download_version.

Frontend (src/)

React 18 with TypeScript strict mode, styled with Tailwind CSS. Eight themes: Light, Dark, True Dark, Tokyo Night, Cyber, Green, Ice and Red Horse.

Key Components

Component	Purpose
App.tsx	Main layout, dual-panel file manager, connection state
LocalFilePanel.tsx	Local file browser
DevToolsV2.tsx	Resizable panels: Code Editor + Terminal + AeroAgent
AIChat.tsx	AeroAgent chat UI
AeroSync/AeroSyncDialog.tsx	Compare, Plan and local-mirror workflow
VaultPanel.tsx	AeroVault container management
CommandPalette.tsx	VS Code-style Ctrl+Shift+P command launcher

IPC Pattern

Frontend-to-backend communication uses two mechanisms:

1. Commands (invoke): Request-response calls. Used for file operations, tool execution, credential management.
2. Events (emit/listen): One-way push from backend to frontend. Used for streaming AI responses (ai-stream-{id}), transfer progress, and tool progress indicators.

// Command (request-response)
const files = await invoke('list_directory', { path: '/home' });

// Event (streaming)
const unlisten = await listen('ai-stream-abc123', (event) => {
  appendToChat(event.payload);
});

Plugin System

Plugins are JSON manifest files paired with shell scripts. They are installed in the user's config directory and verified with SHA-256 checksums before each execution.

~/.config/aeroftp/plugins/
  my-plugin/
    manifest.json    # Name, version, tools, hooks
    script.sh        # Executed by the plugin runtime

Plugins can define custom AI tools and register for event hooks (file:created, transfer:complete, sync:complete).

CLI (src-tauri/src/bin/aeroftp_cli.rs)

The CLI is a separate binary target ([[bin]] in Cargo.toml) that reuses the backend and provider modules. Building it does not require building the frontend bundle. Its batch engine executes .aeroftp-script files. See Batch scripting for the command contract.