Current State

Snapshot

As of 2026-03-30, the frontend is a Vite-powered React application under frontend/src with a Tauri desktop host under frontend/src-tauri.

It provides the active UI surface for the local data pipeline: dashboard, inventory management, conversion authoring, job monitoring, and output browsing. There is no routed replay or visualization workflow in the current desktop app.

Route Map

Route	Description
`/dashboard`	Summary cards, trend views, blockers, and drill-through links to inventory, jobs, and outputs
`/inventory`	Asset listing with search, tag, file type, indexing status, duration, size, and sort filters. Upload, directory scan, bulk indexing, and tag management
`/outputs`	Output listing with filters for format, role, asset, conversion, and availability. Presets for ready datasets and JSON sidecars
`/jobs`	Job history with type/status filters and polling for active jobs

Contextual Routes

Route	Description
`/assets/:assetId`	Asset summary, indexed metadata, tags, topic table, related jobs and conversions, and index/reindex actions
`/convert`	Bootstrap route that resolves to `/convert/use` when saved configs exist, or `/convert/new` otherwise
`/convert/new`	Sequential create wizard: source selection, inspect, draft, spec editing, preview, save config
`/convert/use`	Saved config flow with dropdown selection, config details, run action, and post-submission status polling
`/jobs/:jobId`	Job detail with links to related assets and conversion context
`/outputs/:outputId`	Output detail with source links, file/content links, and artifact metadata
`/replay`	Legacy compatibility redirect to `/inventory`
`/visualize`	Legacy compatibility redirect to `/inventory`

Root Redirect

/ redirects to /dashboard by default, or /inventory when query params are present.

Conversion Authoring Workflow

The conversion workflow is split into two paths:

Create new (/convert/new):

Source asset selection
Topic inspection with sample-count, depth, and decode settings
Spec drafting with inline Use and Trigger topic selection
Raw JSON spec editing
Preview with scrollable timestamp rows, field data, and presence data
Save as a reusable config

Use saved config (/convert/use):

Top-level config dropdown
Selected config details and migration notes
Run action using the saved config
Post-submission status polling with job status, output path, and reported files
Deep-link support via saved_config_id, source_asset_id, and conversion_id query params

Representation-policy details such as effective TFRecord image payload contract are surfaced on conversion status, job detail, and output detail pages for verification.

Data Layer

File	Purpose
`lib/api.ts`	Backend request/response types and fetch helpers
`hooks/use-backend.ts`	SWR hooks for assets, conversions, jobs, outputs, tags, dashboard, and saved configs
`lib/conversion-authoring.ts`	JSON parsing, spec summaries, and inspection helpers
`hooks/use-index-asset.ts`	Indexing mutations and pending-state tracking
`hooks/use-upload-assets.ts`	Upload flow with bounded parallel requests
`hooks/use-scan-directory.ts`	Directory scan flow
`hooks/use-create-conversion.ts`	Conversion submit helper
`lib/backend-runtime.ts`	Desktop runtime snapshot and capability contract
`hooks/use-desktop-backend-runtime.ts`	React binding for desktop runtime state

Tests

The frontend currently has 11 test files using Vitest with React Testing Library and jsdom. Coverage is still targeted rather than exhaustive.

Current test coverage includes:

desktop bootstrap, runtime, and app shell behavior
backend connection notice rendering
inventory upload and directory-scan dialogs
SWR backend hook behavior
conversion entry resolution helpers
output preview, representation-policy, and output-formatting utilities

Dormant Code

components/conversion-dialog.tsx — older modal-style conversion UI that is not used by the active routed experience
lib/conversion-workflow.tsx — helper module retained for that older modal flow

Known Limitations

Saved searches and saved selections are still planned-only placeholders in inventory
The active authoring experience still expects users to tune the final conversion spec as raw JSON
Some legacy client contract names remain in the type layer, such as prepare_visualization in job types and default_episode in indexed asset metadata
The repo still carries some Next-oriented tooling drift even though the active frontend runtime is Vite + React Router + Tauri