platform-engineering

name

platform-engineering

description

Cross-platform development rulebook covering security, architecture, and performance for SPA, PWA, mobile (iOS/Android), and desktop (Electron/Tauri) applications. MUST/DO/DON'T framework with real-world incident references and platform-specific guidance. TRIGGER WHEN: reviewing or building cross-platform apps, checking security posture, validating architecture decisions, optimizing performance, or auditing code against industry standards (OWASP, Core Web Vitals, OAuth 2.1). DO NOT TRIGGER WHEN: the task is purely about UI design, copywriting, or business logic unrelated to platform engineering concerns.

Cross-Platform Development Rulebook

Three pillars govern every application you ship -- Security, Architecture, and Performance. Each rule is tagged with severity (MUST/DO/DON'T) and platform applicability.

Quick Platform Decision Matrix

Concern	SPA	PWA	Mobile	Electron	Tauri
Auth token storage	JS memory + httpOnly cookies	JS memory + httpOnly cookies	Platform Keychain/Keystore	OS credential store	OS credential store
OAuth flow	Auth Code + PKCE	Auth Code + PKCE	System browser + PKCE	Standard PKCE	Standard PKCE
XSS impact	Session hijack	+ persistent SW hijack	WebView bridge access	XSS to RCE	Limited to web context
CSP	Critical	Critical	WebViews only	Critical	Relevant
Offline strategy	Optional	IndexedDB + Cache API + SW	Room/CoreData + sync queue	Optional	Optional
Bundle target	<170KB compressed JS	<170KB compressed JS	<20MB APK/IPA	80-150MB (Chromium)	<10MB total
API style	REST or GraphQL	REST (SW caching)	GraphQL (fewer round-trips)	REST (server-side aggregation)	REST
State management	Zustand/Redux + TanStack Query	IndexedDB + Cache API	ViewModel+StateFlow / SwiftUI	IPC + context isolation	Rust invoke commands

When to Load References

• Security review or audit: Load server-validation, auth-tokens, passkeys-webauthn, api-security, xss-csp, secrets-management, platform-security
• Architecture decisions: Load client-server-architecture, api-design, offline-first, infrastructure
• Performance optimization: Load frontend-performance, backend-and-platform-performance
• Full platform review: Load all 13 references

Reference Materials

Security (Part 1)

1. server-validation.md -- Server-side validation rules, trust boundaries, real-world bypass incidents
2. auth-tokens.md -- Token storage per platform, OAuth 2.1 flows, JWT best practices, secure storage APIs
3. passkeys-webauthn.md -- WebAuthn Level 3 / passkey patterns, server-side verification, cross-platform support, cloned-authenticator detection
4. api-security.md -- Endpoint auth, rate limiting, CORS, OWASP API risks, Peloton/Parler case studies
5. xss-csp.md -- XSS severity by platform, CSP directives, anti-CSRF, sanitization, British Airways incident
6. secrets-management.md -- Secret exposure risks, environment variables, vault services, GitGuardian stats
7. platform-security.md -- Mobile (Keychain/Keystore, cert pinning), Electron (nodeIntegration, contextIsolation, sandbox), Tauri (deny-by-default), PWA (service worker scope, Cache API risks), security headers matrix

Architecture (Part 2)

7. client-server-architecture.md -- Thin client principle, BFF pattern, server-authoritative design
8. api-design.md -- REST vs GraphQL trade-offs by platform, pagination strategies, state management per platform
9. offline-first.md -- Conflict resolution strategies (LWW, CRDTs, OT), optimistic UI, sync patterns
10. infrastructure.md -- Monolith-first principle, database access patterns, CI/CD pipelines per platform, observability, feature flag lifecycle

Performance (Part 3)

11. frontend-performance.md -- Bundle size optimization, image formats and responsive loading, Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS) with business impact data
12. backend-and-platform-performance.md -- API/DB performance (pagination, indexing, connection pooling), mobile battery/memory, SSR/SSG/ISR rendering strategies, CDN caching patterns