oats-architecture

oats Architecture Map

oats is a macOS menu-bar meeting recorder/notetaker: hit record, get a transcript and notes. Tauri v2 (Rust) + Vue 3 (TypeScript). Apple Silicon only.

Two backends, one app

The defining design choice is a backend abstraction (src/composables/useBackend.ts on the frontend; STT/storage modules on the Rust side):

• ☁️ Cloud (Ariso) — sign in; transcription and notes run on Ariso's servers.
• 🔒 Offline (local) — flip a switch; recording, transcription, speaker labels, and notes all run on-device, nothing leaves the Mac.

When designing a feature, ask which backend(s) it touches and keep the abstraction intact — don't hardcode cloud-only or local-only paths into shared code.

Speech-to-text pipeline

Local transcription uses ariso-stt, a Swift/MLX speech engine shipped as a sidecar binary (src-tauri/binaries/ariso-stt-aarch64-apple-darwin, plus mlx-swift_Cmlx.bundle). Rust side: audio_capture.rs (Core Audio process taps for system audio + mic), transcribe.rs, model_manager.rs (model download/management), storage.rs (recordings

• meeting data on disk under ~/.ariso).

Window topology

All windows load one Vue bundle and render a hash route (src/main.ts):

• main (/) — headless BootstrapView; runs sync/startup logic, intentionally blank.
• settings (/settings) — the settings window (pre-created hidden at startup).
• library (/library) — titled "Meetings"; the main user-facing window (created on demand, destroyed on close).
• plus waveform, update, meeting-picker, onboarding, oauth.

The tray (tray.rs, tray_meeting.rs) and recorder pill (recorder_pill.rs) are the menu-bar surface.

Where things live

• Frontend: src/ (views/, composables/, tauri.ts) — see oats-vue.
• Backend: src-tauri/src/ — see oats-tauri.
• Design specs: docs/superpowers/specs/ (YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md). Read recent specs before a related feature; write a new one (via the brainstorming workflow) before non-trivial work.

For runtime inspection of any window, use oats-debugging.