SPA Routes and Features Guide
SPA structure:
src/spa/ – Entry points (entry.web.tsx, entry.mobile.tsx, entry.desktop.tsx) and router config (router/). Router lives here to avoid confusion with src/routes/.
src/routes/ – Page segments only (roots).
src/features/ – Business logic and UI by domain.
This project uses a roots vs features split: src/routes/ only holds page segments; business logic and UI live in src/features/ by domain.
Agent constraint — shared desktop router: Common Web/Electron paths, nesting, metadata, lazy loaders, and preload groups belong in src/spa/router/desktopRouter.shared.tsx. The two desktopRouter.config* files are thin platform adapters; change them only for genuine runtime differences. Do not duplicate a common route in both adapters.
When to Use This Skill
- Adding a new SPA route or route segment
- Defining or refactoring layout/page files under
src/routes/
- Moving route-specific components or logic into
src/features/
- Deciding where to put a new component (route folder vs feature folder)
1. What Belongs in src/routes/ (roots)
Each route directory should contain only:
| File / folder | Purpose |
|---|
_layout/index.tsx or layout.tsx | Layout for this segment: wrap with <Outlet />, optional shell (e.g. sidebar + main). Should be thin: prefer re-exporting or composing from @/features/*. |
index.tsx or page.tsx | Page entry for this segment. Only import from features and render; no business logic. |
[param]/index.tsx (e.g. [id], [cronId]) | Dynamic segment page. Same rule: thin, delegate to features. |
Rule: Route files should only import and compose. No new features/ folders or heavy components inside src/routes/.
2. What Belongs in src/features/
Put domain-oriented UI and logic here:
- Layout building blocks: sidebars, headers, body panels, drawers
- Hooks and store usage for that domain
- Domain-specific forms, lists, modals, etc.
Organize by domain (e.g. Pages, Home, Agent, PageEditor), not by route path. One route can use several features; one feature can be used by several routes.
Each feature should:
- Live under
src/features/<FeatureName>/
- Export a clear public API via
index.ts or index.tsx
- Use
@/features/<FeatureName>/... for internal imports when needed
3. How to Add a New SPA Route
-
Choose the route group
(main)/ – desktop main app
(mobile)/ – mobile
(desktop)/ – Electron-specific
onboarding/, share/ – special flows
-
Create only segment files under src/routes/
- e.g.
src/routes/(main)/my-feature/_layout/index.tsx and src/routes/(main)/my-feature/index.tsx (and optional [id]/index.tsx).
-
Implement layout and page content in src/features/
- Create or reuse a domain (e.g.
src/features/MyFeature/).
- Put layout (sidebar, header, body) and page UI there; export from the feature’s
index.
-
Keep route files thin
- Layout:
export { default } from '@/features/MyFeature/MyLayout' or compose a few feature components + <Outlet />.
- Page: import from
@/features/MyFeature (or a specific subpath) and render; no business logic in the route file.
-
Register the route in the correct definition layer
- Shared Web/Electron route: add the segment once in
desktopRouter.shared.tsx with dynamicElement / dynamicLayout. Put its preloadId there as part of the shared lazy-loader definition.
- Web-only or Electron-only route: add it to the corresponding thin
desktopRouter.config.tsx adapter. Keep platform-only differences explicit and small.
- Mobile counterpart (required for every desktop main-area route): see §3c.
mobileRouter.parity.test.ts fails until the mobile router resolves the new URL to the same pattern, or the route is listed in MOBILE_UNSUPPORTED with a reason.
- Mobile-only flow: use
mobileRouter.config.tsx.
-
Register a route skeleton (REQUIRED for every lazy route)
- Every lazy route inside the main area renders
RouteSegmentSkeleton (src/components/Skeleton/RouteSegment.tsx) while its chunk loads. It resolves via handle.meta.Skeleton only (deepest match wins, walking up through parent routes). Omitting Skeleton renders a blank pane — use NoRouteSkeleton when that is intentional.
- Pick the skeleton when adding or restructuring a route:
- A close-enough generic shape exists →
Skeleton: createSurfaceSkeleton('list' | 'form' | 'grid' | 'editor' | 'detail') from @/components/Skeleton/Surface.
- The page has a distinctive layout (dashboard, multi-panel, conversation) → author a bespoke component under
src/components/Skeleton/ and register it (see ResourceHome.tsx, Generation.tsx, Conversation/).
- Where to put it: on the route's
routeMeta (feature routeMeta.ts or inline in desktopRouter.shared.tsx). A whole subtree sharing one shape can register once on the parent/layout route's handle — children with their own Skeleton still override.
- When changing a page's layout, update its registered skeleton in the same PR — a stale skeleton that no longer matches the page is a regression.
- Skeleton-only parent handles are safe for titles: title/icon resolution also walks deepest-first, and leaf metas keep winning.
- The same deepest skeleton renders at every pending boundary of the chain (layout chunk, page chunk, then the page's own data wait). Make the page's in-component loading state the registered skeleton, or a body that continues it; a different shape there reads as a second, unrelated skeleton.
- Route skeletons are always static imports: a fallback has to paint on its first render, and a
lazy() skeleton (preloaded or not) renders blank until its chunk lands. That puts the skeleton's whole import graph in the entry chunk, so it may only reach UI primitives, other skeletons, constants and import type. Keep stores, services, feature components and value imports from barrels (@/types/* re-exports zod schemas) out of it; move the minimal piece next to the skeleton instead (see ResourceHome/Skeleton and Explorer/viewMode.ts).
- A custom fallback (
fallback: option, in-page Suspense, or an early return <XSkeleton />) keeps the handover continuous only through delayed() / DelayedFallback or RouteLoading, which register the skeleton as visible (retainSkeleton). Rendering a skeleton any other way lets the next boundary wait out its 200ms delay on a blank pane.
3a. Shared desktop route definition and platform adapters
| File | Role |
|---|
desktopRouter.shared.tsx | Single source of truth for common paths, nesting, metadata, lazy imports, and prioritized route preload groups. |
desktopRouter.config.tsx | Thin Web adapter: mounts the common content tree at / and adds Web-only routes. |
desktopRouter.config.desktop.tsx | Thin Electron adapter: injects per-tab Home behavior, TabHost root stubs, and the Electron-only /desktop-onboarding local setup. |
Add or remove common routes only in desktopRouter.shared.tsx, or in a subtree module it imports (taskWorkspaceRoutes.tsx, projectWorkspaceRoutes.tsx, agentPageRoutes.tsx, memoryRoutes.tsx, resourceRoutes.tsx, workspaceSettingsRoutes.tsx for the padded /:slug/settings/* tabs) — the shared file is over the 1200-line limit, so large subtrees move out instead of growing it. Add any new subtree module to readRouterSources in desktopRouter.sync.test.tsx. Keep desktopRouter.sync.test.tsx passing so path behavior, lazy boundaries, preload ownership, and the intentional platform differences remain verified.
3b. Other .desktop.{ts,tsx} variants inside src/routes/
The thin router adapters are not duplicated trees. Other route modules may still colocate a <name>.desktop.{ts,tsx} next to a base <name>.{ts,tsx}; Vite's resolver swaps in the .desktop file for Electron builds. Those paired module implementations still carry a drift risk.
Known variants today:
| Base file (web) | Desktop file (Electron) | Purpose |
|---|
src/features/Settings/features/componentMap.ts | src/features/Settings/features/componentMap.desktop.ts | Settings tab → component map. Web uses dynamic import(); desktop uses sync imports. componentMap.sync.test.ts enforces identical keys. |
src/routes/(main)/agent/index.tsx | src/routes/(main)/agent/index.desktop.tsx | Page entry. Desktop variant overrides the web page wholesale (e.g. extra popup guards). |
src/routes/(main)/group/index.tsx | src/routes/(main)/group/index.desktop.tsx | Same pattern as agent. |
Rules:
- After editing any
.ts/.tsx under src/routes/, glob the same directory for a <filename>.desktop.{ts,tsx} sibling. If one exists, apply the equivalent change there in the same commit.
- When adding a new SettingsTab, register it in both
componentMap.ts (with dynamic(...)) and componentMap.desktop.ts (with a sync import). componentMap.sync.test.ts will fail the build otherwise.
- When adding a new desktop-only page wholesale-override, prefer a single base file with platform-aware code over introducing a new
.desktop.tsx variant — only add a new variant when the two trees genuinely diverge (different store wiring, different popup guards, etc.).
- When deleting, remove both files together.
3c. Mobile counterparts of desktop routes
The mobile web build has its own router (mobileRouter.config.tsx, __MOBILE__), but it mounts the same page segments as desktop. Do not copy a desktop route into the mobile files: reuse the subtree module and adjust only what differs with overlayRoutes (routeOverlay.ts; withHandle, dropRoute, or a mobile element).
| Mobile file | Reuses |
|---|
mobileAgentRoutes.tsx | agentPageChildren under the agent scope layout; group profile / permission |
mobileWorkspaceRoutes.tsx | createTaskWorkspaceChildren, projectWorkspaceRoute, resourceRoute, memoryChildren, inside the mobile page layout |
mobileWorkspaceSettingsRoutes.tsx | workspaceSettingsContentRoute children plus the mobile settings menu and full-bleed tabs |
- A desktop subtree added to one of those modules reaches mobile automatically. A new top-level desktop surface needs one entry in the matching mobile file; wrap full-screen pages in
pageLayout ((mobile)/_page-layout).
- Mobile
NavHeader draws back + the route's NavPanelPortal sidebar as a drawer, and falls back to the route titleKey when the page header has no title. A page that paints no NavHeader gets one from the route handle mobileShellHeader: true | 'untitled' (and mobileShellTitle for a record name). Do not add a second back button inside the page; opt out with showTogglePanelButton={false} when the page keeps its own.
- Desktop-only surfaces go in
mobileUnsupportedRoutes and MOBILE_UNSUPPORTED in mobileRouter.parity.test.ts, so they redirect home instead of being read as a /:workspaceSlug.
4. How to Divide Files (route vs feature)
| Question | Put in src/routes/ | Put in src/features/ |
|---|
| Is it the route’s layout wrapper or page entry? | Yes – _layout/index.tsx, index.tsx, [id]/index.tsx | No |
| Does it contain business logic or non-trivial UI? | No | Yes – under the right domain |
| Is it a reusable layout piece (sidebar, header, body)? | No | Yes |
| Is it a hook, store usage, or domain logic? | No | Yes |
| Is it only re-exporting or composing feature components? | Yes | No |
Examples
- Route (thin):
src/routes/(main)/page/_layout/index.tsx → export { default } from '@/features/Pages/PageLayout'
- Feature (real implementation):
src/features/Pages/PageLayout/ → Sidebar, DataSync, Body, Header, styles, etc.
- Route (thin):
src/routes/(main)/page/index.tsx → Import PageTitle, PageExplorerPlaceholder from @/features/Pages and @/features/PageExplorer; render with <PageTitle /> and placeholder.
- Feature:
Page list, actions, drawers, and hooks live under src/features/Pages/.
5. Progressive Migration (existing code)
Existing routes follow this structure unevenly: some are already thin segment files (e.g. src/routes/(main)/page/, src/routes/(main)/settings/), while others still hold logic or a features/ folder under src/routes/. Check the route's current state instead of assuming.
When touching an old route that still has logic or features/ inside src/routes/:
- Prefer adding new code in
src/features/<Domain>/ and importing from routes.
- For larger refactors, move existing route-only logic into the right feature and then thin out the route files (re-export or compose from features).
- Use
git mv when moving files so history is preserved.
6. Reference Structure (after Phase 1)
Route (thin):
src/routes/(main)/page/
├── _layout/index.tsx → re-export or compose from @/features/Pages/PageLayout
├── index.tsx → import from @/features/Pages, @/features/PageExplorer
└── [id]/index.tsx → import from @/features/Pages, @/features/PageExplorer
Feature (implementation):
src/features/Pages/
├── index.ts → export PageLayout, PageTitle
├── PageTitle.tsx
└── PageLayout/
├── index.tsx → Sidebar + Outlet + DataSync
├── DataSync.tsx
├── Sidebar.tsx
├── style.ts
├── Body/ → list, actions, drawer, etc.
└── Header/ → breadcrumb, add button, etc.
Router config continues to point at route paths (e.g. @/routes/(main)/page, @/routes/(main)/page/_layout); route files then delegate to features.