System Overview
DeLive is an Electron desktop application with a clear separation between the Main process (Node.js runtime) and the Renderer process (Chromium browser context).
Architecture Diagram
Recording Data Flow
API Request Flow
Provider Architecture
Key Architectural Decisions
IndexedDB in Renderer
All session data lives in the Renderer's IndexedDB with an in-memory cache in sessionRepository. The Main process cannot access IndexedDB directly. When the API Server needs data, it sends an IPC request to the Renderer, which responds from the cache (< 5ms latency).
Single HTTP Server
Port 23456 (or the next free port in 23456–23460, then any free system port) hosts multiple WebSocket proxies (/ws/volc, /ws/mistral, /ws/deepgram, /ws/assemblyai, /ws/elevenlabs, /ws/gladia, /ws/sixtydb), the REST API (/api/v1/*), and the live transcript WebSocket (/ws/live) on a single http.createServer(). Each proxy uses noServer: true mode with manual upgrade event routing.
MCP as Separate Process
The MCP server is a standalone Node.js script, not embedded in Electron. Claude Desktop launches it as a child process. It communicates with DeLive via the REST API. This design means DeLive and the MCP server can crash independently.
Provider Registry
Fourteen ASR backends are registered in a singleton ProviderRegistry. Each provider implements a common ASRProvider contract but uses different audio formats and transport methods. The CaptureManager selects the right audio pipeline based on provider capabilities.
Module Map
| Layer | Key Modules |
|---|---|
| Desktop Shell | main.ts, mainWindow.ts, captionWindow.ts, tray.ts, shortcuts.ts |
| IPC | appIpc.ts, captionIpc.ts, safeStorageIpc.ts, updaterIpc.ts, diagnosticsIpc.ts, apiIpc.ts, localRuntimeIpc.ts |
| API | apiServer.ts, apiBroadcast.ts |
| Proxy | volcProxy.ts, shared/volcProxyCore.ts, shared/mistralProxyCore.ts, shared/deepgramProxyCore.ts, shared/assemblyaiProxyCore.ts, shared/elevenlabsProxyCore.ts |
| Renderer App | App.tsx, components/*, i18n/* |
| Orchestration | useASR.ts, captureManager.ts, providerSession.ts, captionBridge.ts |
| Providers | registry.ts, base.ts, windowedBatch.ts, implementations/* |
| State | sessionStore.ts, settingsStore.ts, uiStore.ts, topicStore.ts, tagStore.ts, transcriptStore.ts (backward-compat facade) |
| Persistence | sessionRepository.ts, sessionStorage.ts, settingsStorage.ts, backupStorage.ts |
| Contracts | shared/electronApi.ts, electron/preload.ts |