imager/DEVELOPMENT.md

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ — nodejs.org
• Rust 1.77+ — rustup.rs
• Platform tools — Xcode (macOS), Visual Studio Build Tools (Windows), build-essential (Linux)

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/armbian/imager.git armbian-imager
cd armbian-imager
npm install
npm run tauri:dev

Scripts

npm run dev              # Frontend only (Vite)
npm run tauri:dev        # Full app with hot reload
npm run build            # Build frontend for production
npm run tauri:build      # Build distributable
npm run tauri:build:dev  # Build with debug symbols
npm run lint             # ESLint
npm run clean            # Clean all build artifacts

Build Scripts

./scripts/build-macos.sh [--clean] [--dev]   # macOS ARM64 + x64
./scripts/build-linux.sh [--clean] [--dev]   # Linux x64 + ARM64
./scripts/build-all.sh   [--clean] [--dev]   # All platforms

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology	Why
UI	React 19 + TypeScript	Type-safe, component-based UI
Bundler	Vite	Lightning-fast HMR and builds
Framework	Tauri 2	Native performance, tiny bundle
Backend	Rust	Memory-safe, blazing fast I/O
Async	Tokio	Efficient concurrent operations
i18n	i18next	15 language translations

Why Tauri over Electron?

Metric	Armbian Imager (Tauri)	Typical Electron App
App Size	~15 MB	150-200 MB
RAM Usage	~50 MB	200-400 MB
Startup	< 1 second	2-5 seconds
Native Feel	✅ Uses system webview	❌ Bundles Chromium

Project Structure

Click to expand

armbian-imager/
├── src/                          # React Frontend
│   ├── components/               # UI Components
│   │   ├── flash/                # Flash progress components
│   │   ├── layout/               # Header, HomePage
│   │   ├── modals/               # Board, Image, Device, Manufacturer modals
│   │   └── shared/               # Reusable components (UpdateModal, ErrorDisplay, etc.)
│   ├── hooks/                    # React Hooks (Tauri IPC, async data)
│   ├── config/                   # Badges, manufacturers, OS info
│   ├── locales/                  # i18n translations (15 languages)
│   ├── styles/                   # Modular CSS
│   ├── types/                    # TypeScript interfaces
│   ├── utils/                    # Utility functions
│   └── assets/                   # Images, logos, OS icons
│
├── src-tauri/                    # Rust Backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── commands/             # Tauri IPC handlers
│   │   ├── config/               # Application configuration and constants
│   │   ├── devices/              # Platform device detection
│   │   ├── flash/                # Platform flash (macOS, Linux, Windows)
│   │   ├── images/               # Image management and filtering
│   │   ├── logging/              # Session logging
│   │   ├── paste/                # Log upload to paste.armbian.com
│   │   ├── utils/                # Shared utility functions
│   │   ├── download.rs           # HTTP streaming downloads
│   │   └── decompress.rs         # Decompression (XZ, GZ, ZSTD)
│   └── icons/                    # App icons (all platforms)
│
├── scripts/                      # Build scripts
└── .github/workflows/            # CI/CD

Data Sources

Data	Source
Board List & Images	github.armbian.com/armbian-images.json
Board Photos	cache.armbian.com/images/272/{slug}.png
Vendor Logos	cache.armbian.com/images/vendors/272/{vendor}.png
MOTD Tips	raw.githubusercontent.com/armbian/os/main/motd.json
Log Upload	paste.armbian.com

Acknowledgments

• Raspberry Pi Imager — The inspiration for this project
• Tauri — The framework that makes native apps accessible
• i18next — Internationalization framework
• Lucide — Beautiful icons
• Armbian Community — For years of amazing work on SBC support