Electron + Vite for dev experience (idea / discussion)

[altaskur]

Context

While reviewing the current dev setup, I came across electron-vite, which provides a faster dev loop and hot reload for the Electron main/preload processes.

Angular (v21) already uses Vite internally, so this idea is not about replacing Angular, but about potentially improving the Electron-side DX.

Current situation

• Angular already has fast HMR thanks to Vite
• Electron main/preload changes are relatively infrequent
• The current setup is simple, stable and easy for contributors
• Auto-update support (electron-updater) is planned and relies on predictable builds

The idea

Explore, at some point in the future, whether introducing electron-vite could:

• Improve DX when working on the Electron main/preload
• Reduce restart times during development

This would only affect development, not production behavior.

---

Concerns / why this is NOT a priority right now

• Adds extra complexity (two Vite pipelines)
• Higher cognitive load for contributors
• Marginal gains compared to current setup
• Potential friction with build / update pipelines

Given that OpenTimeTracker is still in alpha, stability and simplicity currently have higher priority than DX optimizations.

---

Conclusion

This is not a planned change, just an idea worth documenting and discussing.

If contributors have:

• experience with electron-vite + Angular
• strong opinions (for or against)
• concrete DX pain points today

Feel free to share them here.