electron-agent-dev

name	electron-agent-dev
description	'Debug Electron main process, IPC communication, and agent workflow issues in the MultimateAi desktop app. Use when: preload bridge fails, IPC messages don't arrive, agent workflow breaks, OAuth window won't open, or electron-store tokens are corrupted.'

Electron Main Process & Agent Debugging

When to Use

• window.api method throws or returns undefined
• IPC messages not reaching renderer or main process
• Agent workflow (deepagents) fails silently
• OAuth popup doesn't open or callback fails
• Token storage (electron-store) corrupted
• Agent tools not executing or approval flow broken

Architecture Overview

Renderer (React) ──ipcRenderer──► Main Process (main.ts)
    │                                    │
    │  window.api.*                      ├── authIpc.ts (token storage)
    │  window.ipcRenderer.*              ├── agentworkflowIpc.ts (deepagents)
    │                                    ├── ollamabridge.ts
    │                                    └── shell.openExternal (OAuth)
    │
    └── preload.ts (contextBridge whitelist)

IPC Channel Whitelist

Channels are strictly whitelisted in electron/preload.ts. If a channel isn't listed, the message won't go through.

Allowed send channels — ALLOWED_SEND_CHANNELS:

• run-workflow, cancel-workflow, tool-approval-response, fetch-ollama-models

Allowed invoke channels — ALLOWED_INVOKE_CHANNELS:

• open-external-url, open-oauth-window, fetch-ollama-models, save-token, get-token, logout, google-login

Allowed on/listen channels — ALLOWED_ON_CHANNELS:

• node-start, node-stream, node-thinking, node-tool-call, node-tool-finished, node-chain-start, node-chain-end, node-error, workflow-complete

Adding a New Channel

Always add new channels to the whitelist arrays in electron/preload.ts. Missing whitelist entries are the #1 cause of "IPC not working".

Agent Workflow Debugging

Agent execution runs entirely in the main process via electron/Ipc/agentworkflowIpc.ts.

Debug Checklist

1. Check the tool approval config — autoApprove mode in the workflow request. If set to "ask_every_time", the agent pauses until the renderer sends a tool-approval-response.
2. Inspect the workflow request — Verify all required fields: nodes[], edges[], provider, model, checkpointer, autoApprove, intent.
3. Monitor event stream — The workflow emits events via the IPC on channels. Missing events indicate a hang in the deepagents execution.
4. Token usage logging — The workflow logs usage to the backend after completion. If logging fails, the workflow still completes — the error is non-fatal.

Common Failures

Symptom	Cause	Fix
node-stream silent	Agent waiting for tool approval	Send tool-approval-response via IPC
OAuth window blank	URL not in shell.openExternal	Use shell.openExternal or open in child BrowserWindow
window.api.getToken() returns null	Token not stored / safeStorage corrupted	Check electron-store file, re-authenticate
Agent tool not found	Tool not registered in toolsregister.ts	Add tool to the appropriate group in toolsregister.ts

Electron DevTools

Main Process Debugging

Run with --inspect to attach Chrome DevTools:

npm run dev --inspect=5858

Then open chrome://inspect in Chrome to attach to the Electron main process.

Renderer DevTools

Electron's BrowserWindow.webContents.openDevTools() is available. Uncomment in electron/main.ts during development.

Encrypted Token Storage

Tokens are stored via electron-store with safeStorage encryption in electron/Ipc/authIpc.ts.

• Data location (Windows): %APPDATA%/multimate-ai/config.json
• If safeStorage is unavailable (rare on headless/WSL), tokens fall back to plaintext storage with a console warning
• To clear corrupted tokens: delete the config file or call window.api.logout()

Rebuilding native modules

If you see Error: The module '...' was compiled against a different Node.js version, rebuild native modules:

npx electron-rebuild

Preload Bridge Pattern

Reference: electron/preload.ts

// Exposing a new API method:
contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld("api", {
  myNewMethod: (arg: string) => ipcRenderer.invoke("my-channel", arg),
});

// Always add 'my-channel' to ALLOWED_INVOKE_CHANNELS