suite-desktop-api

@trezor/suite-desktop-api

Private package providing strongly typed DesktopApi used in @trezor/suite and @trezor/suite-desktop. DesktopApi handles inter-process comumunication inside Electron between the main context, i.e. native processes running in NodeJS, and renderer context, i.e. browser-like processes running on Chromium.

Exported modules:

• main (default) used in @trezor/suite-desktop/src in main (NodeJS) context.
• renderer (browser) used in @trezor/suite and @trezor/suite-desktop-ui in renderer context.

export function getDesktopApi(ipcRenderer?: Electron.IpcRenderer): DesktopApi;

export const desktopApi: DesktopApi;

Usage examples in main process

• Overload electron types. See typed-electron.ts

• Create DesktopApi instance and expose it to renderer window.desktopApi object. See preload.ts

• Receive invoke messages from renderer. See metadata module

• Receive event messages from renderer. See theme module

• Send event messages to renderer. See mainWindow.webContents.send in autoupdater module

Usage examples in renderer process

• DesktopApi.invoke. See metadata module

• DesktopApi.on. See AutoUpdater component

How to add new method/channel

To invoke a method on the main process and return an asynchronous result to the renderer process

• add a channel to ./src/api.ts InvokeChannels
• add a method to ./src/api.ts DesktopApi as DesktopApiInvoke<'your-new-channel'>
• process incoming request in @trezor/suite-desktop/src/modules/* using ipcMain.handle('your-new-channel', (arg?: string) => { return 1; })
• trigger it from @trezor/suite using const r = await desktopApi.yourNewFunction()

To receive an asynchronous event in renderer process

• add a channel to ./src/api.ts RendererChannels
• set a listener in @trezor/suite using await desktopApi.on('your-new-channel', (payload) => {})
• trigger an event from @trezor/suite-desktop/src/modules/* using mainWindow.webContents.send('your-new-channel', { foo: 'bar' })

To receive an asynchronous event in main process

• add a channel to ./src/api.ts MainChannels
• add a method to ./src/api.ts DesktopApi as DesktopApiSend<'your-new-channel'>
• set a listener in @trezor/suite-desktop/src/modules/* using ipcMain.on('your-new-channel', (_, { foo }) => {})
• trigger an event from @trezor/suite using desktopApi.yourNewFunction({ foo: 'bar' })