VNOX-Client/docs/desktop.md

Desktop Client

The primary VNOX client. Native, fast, lightweight.

Stack

Layer	Technology
Language	Rust
UI framework	egui
Renderer	wgpu
Audio capture/playback	cpal
Audio processing	rodio
Voice codec	opus (libopus bindings)
Networking	quinn (QUIC/UDP), tokio
Serialization	prost (Protobuf)

Why egui

• immediate mode UI: simple to reason about, no complex state trees
• runs on wgpu: same renderer as the rest of the GPU pipeline
• truly cross-platform: one codebase, same behavior on Windows/macOS/Linux
• no runtime dependencies: ships as a single binary

Why wgpu

• modern GPU API (Vulkan / Metal / DX12 / WebGPU backend)
• future-proof for overlay rendering and spatial audio visualizations
• native on all tier-1 platforms

---

Platforms

Platform	Status
Linux x86_64	Phase 1
Windows x86_64	Phase 1
macOS (Apple Silicon)	Phase 1
macOS (Intel)	Phase 1
Linux ARM64	Phase 2

---

Audio pipeline

cpal (capture)
    │ PCM f32 48000Hz
    ▼
RNNoise (noise suppression)
    ▼
AEC (echo cancellation)
    ▼
VAD (voice activity detection)
    ▼
opus encode
    ▼
LNEx UDP packet → voice-node

Playback:

LNEx UDP packet ← voice-node
    ▼
jitter buffer
    ▼
opus decode
    ▼
rodio (playback)
    ▼
cpal (output device)

Audio device selection is configurable in Settings → Voice and Settings → Audio Output.

---

Design system

The client follows the VNOX Hi-Fi Minimalism design system. Full specification: docs/04-clients/design-system.md

Key decisions:

• monospace font throughout (IBM Plex Mono)
• warm dark palette (#0d0d0d base, #ff6b35 accent)
• no round server icons — square with abbreviation, 40px sidebar
• latency indicator bottom-left, next to identity
• no separate member list panel — voice users shown inline in channel list

---

Layout

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ titlebar: dots · VNOX wordmark · connected node      │
├────────┬──────────────────┬───────────────────────── │
│ nodes  │ channels         │ main (chat / voice)      │
│ 40px   │ 190px            │ flex                     │
│        │                  │                          │
│  NC ◄  │ nightcore.lnex   │ #general                 │
│  DV ·  │ ─────────────    │ ─────────────────────    │
│  GG    │ # general ◄      │ messages                 │
│  VD    │ # dev-talk       │                          │
│  +     │ # plugins        │                          │
│        │                  │                          │
│        │ ~ lobby          │                          │
│        │   · raven        │ ─────────────────────    │
│        │   · 0xmist       │ #general › [input]       │
│        │   🔇 lurker_7    │                          │
│        │ ~ gaming         │                          │
│        │ ─────────────    │                          │
│        │ ● 12ms lnex v1   │                          │
│        │ [YU] you 🎤 🎧 ⚙ │                          │
└────────┴──────────────────┴──────────────────────────┘

---

Settings

Settings are stored locally. No settings are synced to the server.

Voice

• input device
• input volume
• noise suppression (RNNoise on/off)
• echo cancellation (on/off)
• activation mode: push-to-talk / voice activity / always on
• VAD threshold
• Opus bitrate (8–128k)
• Opus frame interval (10 / 20 / 40ms)

Audio output

• output device
• output volume
• jitter buffer size
• adaptive jitter buffer (on/off)

Network

• relay address
• auto relay selection
• UDP port
• force relay only (disable direct)

Identity

• view pubkey
• export keypair
• seed phrase backup
• rotate keypair

Appearance

• color scheme
• UI scale
• font

Keybinds

• push-to-talk key
• mute toggle
• deafen toggle
• overlay toggle

Plugins

• installed plugin list
• enable / disable per plugin

Advanced (debug)

• log level
• log voice packets
• show packet stats
• disable encryption (dev only)

---

Building from source

# Prerequisites: Rust stable, system audio libs

# Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
apt install libasound2-dev libopus-dev

# macOS
brew install opus

# Build
git clone https://github.com/vnox/vnox
cd vnox/client
cargo build --release

# Binary
./target/release/vnox-client