Files
netbird/client/ui-wails/README.md
Zoltán Papp 8f16a19b8f [client/ui-wails] Add windows:build:console task for log debugging
The default Windows build links the binary as a GUI subsystem app, so
stdout/stderr is detached from the launching terminal — invisible logrus
output makes tray and event-stream bugs hard to chase. Add a sibling task
that links as console subsystem and writes a separately-named binary so
the production output is preserved.

Usage:
  CGO_ENABLED=1 task windows:build:console
  bin\netbird-ui-console.exe   # logs print to the launching cmd/PowerShell
2026-04-29 16:21:45 +02:00

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# NetBird desktop UI (Wails3 + React)
Replaces `client/ui` (Fyne). One binary on Windows / macOS / Linux,
talks to the NetBird daemon over gRPC, renders a React frontend in a
WebView.
## Prerequisites
- Go ≥ 1.25, Node ≥ 20, **pnpm** (`corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate`)
- `wails3` CLI: `go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/cmd/wails3@latest`
- `task`: `go install github.com/go-task/task/v3/cmd/task@latest`
- A running NetBird daemon (default: `unix:///var/run/netbird.sock`,
Windows `tcp://127.0.0.1:41731`)
- Linux only: `libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev`, `libgtk-3-dev`,
`libayatana-appindicator3-dev`
## Develop without rebuilding
```bash
cd client/ui-wails
task dev
```
`task dev` runs Vite (port 9245) + the Go binary + a `*.go` watcher.
Frontend edits hot-reload instantly. Go edits trigger a rebuild and
relaunch. Pass daemon flags after `--`:
```bash
task dev -- --daemon-addr=tcp://127.0.0.1:41731
```
For pure UI work (no native window, fastest loop):
```bash
cd frontend && pnpm dev
```
## Production build
```bash
task build
```
Output in `bin/`. Frontend assets are embedded into the binary.
### Cross-compile Windows from Linux
Install the mingw-w64 toolchain once:
```bash
sudo apt install gcc-mingw-w64-x86-64 # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install mingw64-gcc # Fedora
sudo pacman -S mingw-w64-gcc # Arch
```
Then:
```bash
CGO_ENABLED=1 task windows:build
```
Produces `bin/netbird-ui.exe`. macOS cross-compile from Linux is not
supported (signing and notarization need a real Mac).
### Windows console build (logs in the terminal)
Default `windows:build` links the binary as a Windows GUI app, which
detaches from the launching console — `logrus` output, `fmt.Println`,
and panics go nowhere visible. To debug tray/event/daemon issues:
```bash
CGO_ENABLED=1 task windows:build:console
```
Produces `bin/netbird-ui-console.exe`. Run it from `cmd.exe` /
PowerShell / Windows Terminal and stdout/stderr land in that
terminal. Same flag works on a native Windows build (drop the
`CGO_ENABLED=1` if your toolchain already has it set).
## Regenerating bindings
When a Go service signature changes:
```bash
wails3 generate bindings
```
`task dev` does this automatically on `*.go` save.
## Tray icons
Source SVGs live in `assets/svg/` (state.svg + state-macos.svg). After editing
any SVG, rasterize to the PNGs the Go side embeds:
```bash
task common:generate:tray:icons
```
Requires Inkscape. Commit the resulting `assets/*.png` files alongside the
SVG change so CI doesn't need Inkscape installed.