The Desktop GUI

The desktop application is an operational test instrument, not a generic dashboard. Its primary routes mirror the operator’s movement through a test cycle.

Area	Existing responsibility
Plan	Select a suite or case set and establish the cycle plan.
Execution	Start and supervise the active execution.
Cycle	Inspect the current cycle, its cases, prompts, telemetry, evidence, and reports.
Explore	Browse cycle history, open a cycle, and compare executions.
Settings	Configure general, appearance, identity, installed artifact, account/update, diagnostic, and about sections.

The root route redirects to Plan. Runtime changes travel through the backend rather than being held only in React state, so navigation does not define durability.

A First Pass

1. Open Plan and choose a runnable template or suite.
2. Review generated cases and parameters before starting.
3. Move to Execution and start the cycle.
4. Use Cycle to watch status, prompts, records, telemetry, and case results.
5. Open Explore after completion to review history or compare cycles.
6. Generate the available report or document from the cycle surface.

The shipped validation-synthetic package provides a deterministic runtime smoke workflow. The validation-synthetic contribution provides previewable cases, but it has no execution adapter and is not runnable by itself.

Desktop-Specific Features

The Tauri shell owns the backend session, opens generated reports, integrates the private GitLab sign-in/updater paths, and packages the desktop application. Browser-only development uses the same frontend but does not supply all desktop commands.