Is ArdaPlayer a fork of Electron?

No. ArdaPlayer is written in Go and renders through the WebKit engine already installed on the Linux system. It does not bundle Chromium or a Node.js runtime, and it is not built on the Electron codebase. The similarity is conceptual only: both let you build an application interface with web technology.

Why WebKit rather than Chromium?

WebKitGTK is already packaged for Debian-based systems, receives security updates through the distribution, and has a considerably smaller footprint than shipping a private Chromium build with every application. On the low-power hardware typical of kiosks and terminals that difference decides whether the device feels responsive.

Can I use React, Vue or Svelte with ArdaPlayer?

Yes. ArdaPlayer loads whatever HTML, CSS and JavaScript your build produces. No framework is required and none is forbidden — the runtime never dictates your front-end architecture.

One binary.
Native reach.

ArdaPlayer is the runtime that turns a Linux box into your product. It boots, verifies and decrypts your application package, paints it full screen through WebKit, and hands the page a controlled door into the hardware underneath.

Build your first app See what it exposes

Single static binaryWebKit renderingKiosk by defaultEncrypted app loadingHardware bridgeAuto-reconnecting control channel

01 / Cold start

What happens
when it boots.

There is no desktop, no window manager to fight and no browser chrome for a customer to poke at. The machine powers on and the application is simply there.

01
IdentityDerives a stable device ID from the machine — the same value across reboots, different on every unit.
02
Package loadVerifies the Ed25519 signature, decrypts the bundle in memory and refuses to continue if either fails.
03
SurfaceOpens a full-screen WebKit surface with the application's own content security policy applied.
04
BridgeInjects the arda.* namespace, scoped to the capabilities the manifest declared.
05
Dial homeOpens the outbound control channel and reports identity, version and a hardware snapshot.
06
RunHands over to your code — and keeps the socket alive, reconnecting forever if it drops.

tty1boot

          [  0.00 ] ardaplayer 0.1.1 linux/amd64
          [  0.01 ] device   a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6
          [  0.03 ] package  app.arda · 1.84 MB
          [  0.06 ] signature ed25519 ✓
          [  0.09 ] decrypt   aes-256-gcm ✓
          [  0.12 ] manifest  caps: db, printer, usb, net
          [  0.14 ] surface   webkit2gtk · 1920x1080 · kiosk
          [  0.31 ] bridge    arda.* injected
          [  0.34 ] control   dialling wss://…/ws
          [  0.52 ] control   connected · init sent
          [  0.55 ] sysinfo   4 cpu · 3716 MB · 2 usb
          [  0.61 ] app       running
        

arda-device-014ONLINE

02 / Positioning

Conceptually like Electron.
Built for a different job.

Electron is an excellent way to ship a desktop application to people who own their computers. An appliance in a shop is a different problem, and the trade-offs go the other way.

Concern	Typical Electron app	ArdaPlayer
Rendering engine	Private Chromium bundled per application	System WebKit, updated by the distribution
Application code	ASAR archive — readable and extractable	Signed, encrypted `.arda`, decrypted at load
Native access	Full Node.js API surface in the main process	Narrow, capability-scoped `arda.*` bridge
Target hardware	Developer and consumer machines	Low-power terminals, panel PCs and ARM boards
Window model	Desktop window, menus, multiple windows	One full-screen surface, no chrome, no escape
Updates	Per-application updater the user consents to	Fleet-wide, hash-verified, operator-driven
Fleet management	Not in scope	Registry, telemetry, console and remote shell built in

Not a competition ArdaPlayer is not a drop-in Electron replacement and doesn't try to be. It has no desktop integration, no multi-window model and no Node.js in the page. If you're shipping a desktop app, use Electron. If you're shipping a device, keep reading.

// arda.json — declared at build time
{
  "name":    "counter-kiosk",
  "version": "1.4.0",
  "entry":   "dist/index.html",

  "capabilities": [
    "db",
    "sync",
    "printer",
    "usb:read",
    "net:status"
  ],

  "kiosk": {
    "cursor":    false,
    "blankAfter": 0
  },

  "bind": "installation"
}

// Anything not declared simply isn't there
console.log(typeof arda.printer)  // 'object'
console.log(typeof arda.gpio)     // 'undefined'

// Capability checks are cheap and explicit
if (arda.can('usb:read')) {
  const devices = await arda.usb.list()
}

// Errors are typed, not stringly-typed
try {
  await arda.printer.receipt(job)
} catch (err) {
  if (err.code === 'PRINTER_OFFLINE') {
    ui.warn('Check the printer')
  }
}

03 / The bridge

A narrow door,
not an open one.

The page has no network stack of its own and no filesystem. Everything it can reach passes through the bridge, and the bridge only exposes what the package's manifest asked for at build time.

That cuts both ways: it limits what a compromised page can do on the device, and it limits what a careless dependency can do to your customer's hardware. A third-party analytics script bundled into your app cannot quietly open a socket, because there is no socket to open.

Read the security model

04 / Where it runs

Hardware
independence.

The same package model targets very different machines. If Linux boots on it and WebKit paints on it, ArdaPlayer is designed to run on it.

x86-64

Mini PCs, industrial box PCs, repurposed point-of-sale terminals and low-power Celeron/Atom hardware.

amd64Working

ARM64

Single-board computers, panel PCs and embedded modules running a 64-bit Debian-family userland.

arm64In progress

Raspberry Pi

The reference board for GPIO work — Pi 4 and Pi 5 with an official or third-party touchscreen.

rpiIn progress

Touch terminals

Capacitive and resistive touchscreens, customer-facing second displays, cash drawers and thermal printers.

peripheralsIn progress

1Binary to installNo runtime to provision

0Inbound portsOutbound control channel only

GoRuntime languageStatic build, no interpreter

WebKitRendering engineSystem-provided, distro-updated

See what your
page can reach.

Storage, synchronisation, networking, printers, cameras, USB devices, GPIO and system control — all from ordinary JavaScript.

Browse the native APIs Full reference

One binary.Native reach.

What happenswhen it boots.

Conceptually like Electron.Built for a different job.

A narrow door,not an open one.

Hardwareindependence.