Frontend Development

Frontend Development Guidelines

Guidelines for developing the Wails 3 GUI frontend of mcpd, built with React and TypeScript.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version specified in frontend/package.json)
• Wails 3.0.0-alpha.53
• Go 1.25+ (for Wails bindings generation)

Development Commands

Wails GUI Development

# Generate TypeScript bindings for Go services
make wails-bindings

# Run Wails in development mode (hot reload)
make wails-dev

# Build Wails application
make wails-build

# Package Wails application for distribution
make wails-package

Frontend Structure

The frontend is located in the frontend/ directory and follows standard React/TypeScript conventions.

Key Directories:

• frontend/src/: Source code
  • components/: Reusable UI components
  • routes/: Page components and routing
  • modules/: Feature modules with hooks and utilities
  • bindings/: Auto-generated TypeScript bindings from Go services
• frontend/public/: Static assets

Working with Wails Bindings

Generating Bindings

Whenever you modify Go service methods in internal/ui/, regenerate TypeScript bindings:

make wails-bindings

This creates TypeScript interfaces and functions in frontend/src/bindings/ that match your Go service methods.

Using Bindings in Frontend

Import and use the generated bindings in your React components:

import { ServiceMethod } from '@/bindings/...'

// Use in component
const result = await ServiceMethod(params)

Development Workflow

1. Modify Go Services: Add or update methods in internal/ui/
2. Regenerate Bindings: Run make wails-bindings
3. Update Frontend: Use the new bindings in your React components
4. Test in Dev Mode: Run make wails-dev for hot reload
5. Build: Run make wails-build when ready

Frontend-Specific Guidelines

For detailed React/TypeScript frontend-specific guidance, see frontend/CLAUDE.md.

Integration with Backend

The Wails bridge layer (internal/ui/) exposes core functionality to the GUI:

• Service methods in internal/ui/ become callable from frontend
• TypeScript bindings provide type-safe access to Go functions
• Wails handles serialization/deserialization automatically
• Frontend can access all core control plane features through bindings

Common Tasks

Adding a New UI Feature

1. Implement Go service methods in internal/ui/
2. Regenerate TypeScript bindings: make wails-bindings
3. Create React components in frontend/src/
4. Use bindings to call Go services: import { Method } from '@/bindings/...'
5. Test in development mode: make wails-dev

Updating Existing Features

1. Modify Go service methods in internal/ui/ if needed
2. Regenerate bindings if Go signatures changed: make wails-bindings
3. Update React components in frontend/src/
4. Test changes: make wails-dev

Debugging

• Use browser DevTools in Wails dev mode
• Check console for TypeScript/React errors
• Verify bindings are up-to-date if Go methods changed
• Check internal/ui/ for Go-side errors

Best Practices

• Always regenerate bindings after modifying Go services
• Keep UI logic in React components, business logic in Go services
• Use TypeScript types from bindings for type safety
• Follow React best practices (hooks, component composition, etc.)
• See frontend/CLAUDE.md for detailed frontend conventions

Related Documentation

• Frontend Guide: See frontend/CLAUDE.md for React/TypeScript frontend-specific guidance
• Wails Documentation: https://wails.io/
• Project Overview: Use the project-overview skill for architecture details
• Internal Development: Use the internal-development skill for Go backend work

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