Dewinator · Dewinator · May 3, 2026 · May 4, 2026
diff --git a/app/.gitignore b/app/.gitignore
@@ -3,5 +3,8 @@ src-tauri/target/
 src-tauri/gen/
 src-tauri/Cargo.lock.bak
 
+# Sidecar payload — generated by scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh, ~150 MB tree
+src-tauri/sidecar-payload/
+
 # OS
 .DS_Store
diff --git a/app/README.md b/app/README.md
@@ -28,22 +28,35 @@ app/
 
 ## Status
 
-This PR ships the scaffold only. `cargo check` is green. What works:
+`cargo check` and `cargo tauri build` are green. What works on a developer
+Mac (the iteration-A target):
 
 - Window opens at `http://127.0.0.1:8787` (existing dashboard).
-- Tray icon with Show/Hide + Quit.
+- Tray icon with **Show/Hide**, **Open data dir**, **Check for updates**,
+  **Quit**.
 - Closing the window minimises to tray (does NOT quit).
-- Sidecar spawn wired (`MYCELIUM_DATA_DIR`, `MYCELIUM_DASHBOARD_PORT`,
-  `MYCELIUM_WIRE_PORT` env vars passed through).
+- Sidecar bundled into the .app — `scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh` packs
+  `mcp-server/dist` + `node_modules` + migrations into `sidecar-payload/`,
+  Tauri ships it as a Resources sub-tree.
+- Sidecar inherits `SUPABASE_URL` / `SUPABASE_KEY` from the user's
+  launchd environment (`launchctl setenv …`) — works zero-config on the
+  developer machine; distribution to other users needs the
+  PGlite-as-primary refactor (separate ticket).
+- Auto-updater wired to GitHub Releases (placeholder pubkey, see below).
 - Wave-3 forward-compat: `wire-cert/` directory created at first launch;
   capability set already lists shell-execute so the sidecar can later bind
   UDP for mDNS without re-signing.
 
 What does NOT work yet (intentional, follow-up tickets):
 
-- The sidecar binary in `binaries/mycelium-mcp-aarch64-apple-darwin` is a
-  shell stub. Building the real bundled Node binary (Bun/pkg compile) is
-  sub-task 8 (CI matrix).
+- **Self-contained Node runtime.** The launcher invokes `node` from
+  PATH. Bundling a portable Node so the .dmg works without a system
+  Node install is sub-task 8 (CI matrix / cross-platform).
+- **PGlite as primary backend.** `mcp-server/src/index.ts` still
+  constructs every service against `SUPABASE_URL` / `SUPABASE_KEY`. A
+  refactor to honour `MYCELIUM_USE_PGLITE=1` and route all services
+  through the in-process adapter is the next big native-app PR
+  (separate ticket).
 - App icons are solid-purple placeholders.
 - The auto-updater is wired, but the `pubkey` in `tauri.conf.json` is a
   placeholder — see "Signing-key bootstrap" below.
@@ -80,14 +93,19 @@ each platform artefact with the private key and ships
 ```bash
 # Prereqs (one-time)
 brew install rustup-init && rustup-init -y --default-toolchain stable --profile minimal
+cargo install tauri-cli --version "^2"
 
-# Type-check the scaffold
+# Type-check
 cd app/src-tauri && cargo check
 
-# Run with mcp-server already up at :8787 (`cd mcp-server && npm run dev`):
-cd app/src-tauri && cargo tauri dev   # requires `cargo install tauri-cli`
-```
+# Bundle the sidecar payload into sidecar-payload/ (also runs as Tauri's
+# beforeBuildCommand, so usually you don't need to call it directly):
+bash scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh
 
-`cargo tauri dev` will spawn the stub sidecar and the dashboard will fail
-to load — until the bundling PR lands, run the mcp-server manually in a
-separate terminal.
+# Develop with hot-reload-ish (Tauri respawns sidecar on quit):
+cd app/src-tauri && cargo tauri dev
+
+# Build the production .dmg:
+cd app/src-tauri && cargo tauri build
+# → app/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/dmg/mycelium_*.dmg
+```
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/binaries/mycelium-mcp-aarch64-apple-darwin b/app/src-tauri/binaries/mycelium-mcp-aarch64-apple-darwin
@@ -1,11 +1,48 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-# Stub sidecar — the real bundled Node binary is built by a follow-up
-# release-pipeline ticket (#176 sub-task 8 — CI matrix). For development
-# right now, run the mcp-server directly:
+# Launcher for the Tauri-bundled mcp-server sidecar.
 #
-#   cd mcp-server && npm run build && node dist/index.js
+# Locates the payload (compiled JS + node_modules) and runs it via the
+# system-installed `node`. Two layouts are supported:
 #
-# Tauri's `tauri dev` will spawn this stub instead and the dashboard will
-# fail to load — that is expected until the bundling PR lands.
-echo "[mycelium-mcp] stub sidecar — run mcp-server/dist/index.js manually for development" >&2
-exit 0
+#   1. dev mode: `cargo tauri dev`
+#      Layout: <repo>/app/src-tauri/binaries/mycelium-mcp-* (this file)
+#              <repo>/app/src-tauri/sidecar-payload/index.js
+#
+#   2. bundled .app:
+#      Layout: …/mycelium.app/Contents/MacOS/mycelium-mcp (this file)
+#              …/mycelium.app/Contents/Resources/sidecar-payload/index.js
+#      (Tauri copies bundle.resources into Contents/Resources/)
+#
+# IMPORTANT: requires `node` on PATH. Bundling a portable Node runtime so
+# the .dmg is self-contained is follow-up sub-task 8 (CI matrix).
+
+set -e
+
+DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+
+if [ -d "$DIR/../sidecar-payload" ]; then
+  PAYLOAD="$DIR/../sidecar-payload"
+elif [ -d "$DIR/../Resources/sidecar-payload" ]; then
+  PAYLOAD="$DIR/../Resources/sidecar-payload"
+else
+  echo "mycelium-mcp launcher: sidecar-payload not found near $DIR" >&2
+  echo "  Run scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh from the repo root, or rebuild the .app." >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+if ! command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "mycelium-mcp launcher: 'node' not found on PATH." >&2
+  echo "  Install Node 20+ (brew install node) or run a self-contained build" >&2
+  echo "  (sub-task 8 — portable Node runtime bundling)." >&2
+  exit 3
+fi
+
+# Iteration A: mcp-server still boots against Supabase by default
+# (see #176 sub-task follow-up: PGlite-as-primary-backend refactor).
+# SUPABASE_URL / SUPABASE_KEY come from the user-launchd environment
+# (`launchctl setenv …`), which any GUI-launched app inherits — so the
+# Tauri-bundled .app gets them automatically on the developer's machine.
+# Distribution to other users will need PGlite-as-primary or an in-app
+# onboarding flow that asks for the keys (separate ticket).
+
+exec node "$PAYLOAD/index.js" "$@"
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json b/app/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "identifier": "io.mycelium.app",
   "build": {
-    "beforeDevCommand": "",
-    "beforeBuildCommand": "",
+    "beforeDevCommand": "bash -c 'bash \"$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh\"'",
+    "beforeBuildCommand": "bash -c 'bash \"$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh\"'",
     "devUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:8787",
     "frontendDist": "../dist"
   },
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@
       "icons/icon.png"
     ],
     "externalBin": ["binaries/mycelium-mcp"],
+    "resources": ["sidecar-payload"],
     "category": "Productivity",
     "shortDescription": "Local-first cognitive memory for any LLM",
     "longDescription": "mycelium is a sovereign cognitive layer for LLM agents — persistent memory, neurochemistry, evolution, federation. Runs entirely on your machine, no cloud."

diff --git a/scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh b/scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Bundles the mcp-server (compiled JS + node_modules) into the Tauri app's
+# sidecar-payload directory so `cargo tauri build` packs it as a Resources
+# sub-tree. Called by `tauri.conf.json`'s beforeBuildCommand and runnable
+# standalone for development.
+#
+# Output layout (under app/src-tauri/sidecar-payload/):
+#   index.js, *.map           ← compiled mcp-server entry
+#   node_modules/             ← runtime deps (PGlite WASM, llama.cpp .node, …)
+#   package.json              ← so node resolves the right "main"/"type"
+#   ...rest of dist/
+#
+# IMPORTANT (current iteration, sub-task 3 ticket A):
+# This requires a system-Node install on the target machine. The launcher
+# script in app/src-tauri/binaries/mycelium-mcp-* invokes `node` from PATH.
+# Bundling a portable Node runtime so the .dmg is self-contained is
+# follow-up sub-task 8 (CI matrix / cross-platform compile).
+#
+# Usage:  scripts/bundle-sidecar.sh
+# Idempotent — safe to re-run.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+MCP_SERVER="$REPO_ROOT/mcp-server"
+PAYLOAD="$REPO_ROOT/app/src-tauri/sidecar-payload"
+
+echo "[bundle-sidecar] repo=$REPO_ROOT"
+echo "[bundle-sidecar] payload=$PAYLOAD"
+
+# 1. Ensure node_modules are present (needed for runtime resolve AND for
+#    `tsc` in step 2 — must run before the build, not after).
+if [ ! -d "$MCP_SERVER/node_modules" ]; then
+  echo "[bundle-sidecar] node_modules missing — running npm ci"
+  (cd "$MCP_SERVER" && npm ci)
+fi
+
+# 2. Ensure mcp-server is built.
+if [ ! -f "$MCP_SERVER/dist/index.js" ] || [ "$MCP_SERVER/src/index.ts" -nt "$MCP_SERVER/dist/index.js" ]; then
+  echo "[bundle-sidecar] mcp-server build needed — running npm run build"
+  (cd "$MCP_SERVER" && npm run build)
+else
+  echo "[bundle-sidecar] mcp-server build is fresh"
+fi
+
+# 3. Wipe and re-create payload (cheaper than rsync diff for ~150 MB tree).
+rm -rf "$PAYLOAD"
+mkdir -p "$PAYLOAD"
+
+# 4. Copy compiled dist (everything: index.js, services/, tools/, agents/, …).
+cp -R "$MCP_SERVER/dist/." "$PAYLOAD/"
+
+# 5. Copy node_modules verbatim. PGlite ships WASM + .data, node-llama-cpp
+#    ships native .node bindings — both need their on-disk layout intact.
+cp -R "$MCP_SERVER/node_modules" "$PAYLOAD/node_modules"
+
+# 6. package.json so Node honours "type": "module" / "exports".
+cp "$MCP_SERVER/package.json" "$PAYLOAD/package.json"
+
+# 7. Migrations dir is read at boot by the migration runner — pack a copy.
+mkdir -p "$PAYLOAD/supabase"
+cp -R "$REPO_ROOT/supabase/migrations" "$PAYLOAD/supabase/migrations"
+
+SIZE=$(du -sh "$PAYLOAD" | cut -f1)
+echo "[bundle-sidecar] payload built — $SIZE"