Writing a third-party Adom Desktop bridge

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "type": "app",
  "slug": "adom-desktop-bridges",
  "title": "Writing a third-party Adom Desktop bridge",
  "brief": "Bridge SDK guide: bridge.json schema, kind:python/node/exe, hello-python + hello-rust reference templates, packaging + lifecycle commands.",
  "version": "1.1.0",
  "tags": [],
  "license": "MIT",
  "discovery_triggers": [
    "third-party bridge",
    "adom-desktop bridge",
    "bridge SDK",
    "bridge.json",
    "bridge manifest",
    "write a bridge",
    "custom bridge",
    "altium bridge",
    "matlab bridge",
    "oscilloscope bridge",
    "hello sample bridge",
    "bridge_install",
    "bridge_uninstall",
    "bridge_list",
    "bridge_pause",
    "bridge_resume",
    "refresh_bridges",
    "dynamic bridge",
    "ship a bridge",
    "host a bridge",
    "bridges-registry",
    "extend adom-desktop"
  ],
  "discovery_pitch": "Write a third-party bridge for adom-desktop — ship a custom EDA / lab / vendor integration as a stdlib-Python or Node server, install it via a wiki manifest URL, no fork of adom-desktop required.",
  "sample_prompts": [
    {
      "label": "Write a bridge",
      "prompt": "Help me write a third-party Adom Desktop bridge for X"
    },
    {
      "label": "Install bridge",
      "prompt": "Install the hello-python sample bridge so I can see how third-party bridges work"
    },
    {
      "label": "Try Rust bridge",
      "prompt": "Install the hello-rust sample bridge — I want to see a single-binary Rust example"
    },
    {
      "label": "Package bridge",
      "prompt": "Package my bridge dir as a wiki-installable manifest+zip pair"
    }
  ],
  "install": {
    "binary_name": "adom-desktop-bridges",
    "install_dir": "",
    "install_hint": "",
    "version_cmd": ""
  },
  "readme": "# Writing a third-party Adom Desktop bridge\n\n> **Public version of this guide:** [`apps/adom-desktop-bridges` on the Adom Wiki](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/wiki/apps/adom-desktop-bridges). The wiki page is the canonical user-facing copy and is what the GUI's \"+ Bridge\" install modal links to (the adom-inc GitHub repo is private). When you update this file with breaking schema changes or new lifecycle commands, also republish the wiki page via `adom-wiki page edit apps/adom-desktop-bridges --field content --body-md <this file>`.\n\nv1.8.0+ supports dynamic bridges: any zip with a `bridge.json` at its root can be installed via `adom-desktop bridge_install --manifestUrl <wiki-or-github-url>`. This lets community authors ship bridges for Altium, MATLAB, Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscopes, Keysight, OrCAD, anything — without coordinating with the Adom Desktop release cycle.\n\n## Try it now — the `hello-python` and `hello-rust` sample bridges\n\nTwo parallel reference bridges are hosted on the Adom Wiki, one per language. Both expose the same two verbs (`*_ping` / `*_echo`) under different prefixes (`hellopy_` / `hellors_`), so they can be installed simultaneously for a side-by-side demo. Both use `port: 0` (dynamic OS-assigned ports — v1.8.31+) so no collision is possible.\n\n| Flavor | Manifest URL | Verb prefix | Port | When to fork |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| **Python** (stdlib only, ~80 lines) | `…/hello-python-bridge-manifest.json` | `hellopy_` | 8890 | Vendor has Python bindings, fast dev iter, I/O-bound work |\n| **Rust** (`tiny_http` + serde, single static binary, ~120 lines) | `…/hello-rust-bridge-manifest.json` | `hellors_` | 8891 | No Python runtime on user's machine, CPU-bound, type safety |\n\nBoth manifest URLs are under `https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/static/apps/adom-desktop/`.\n\n### Install from the GUI\n\n1. Click **+ Bridge** in Adom Desktop's bridge bar\n2. Paste one (or both) of the manifest URLs into the dialog, click **Install**\n3. New chips appear ~2 seconds later with a small ✦ marker (third-party indicator)\n\n### Install both from the CLI\n\n```bash\n# Install the Python flavor\nadom-desktop bridge_install '{\"manifestUrl\":\"https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/static/apps/adom-desktop/hello-python-bridge-manifest.json\"}'\nadom-desktop hellopy_ping\n# → {\"success\":true,\"output\":\"Hello from the Python sample bridge v1.1.0!\",\"language\":\"python\",...}\n\n# Install the Rust flavor (can coexist with hello-python)\nadom-desktop bridge_install '{\"manifestUrl\":\"https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/static/apps/adom-desktop/hello-rust-bridge-manifest.json\"}'\nadom-desktop hellors_ping\n# → {\"success\":true,\"output\":\"Hello from the Rust sample bridge v1.1.0!\",\"language\":\"rust\",...}\n\n# Echo through both\nadom-desktop hellopy_echo '{\"message\":\"world\"}'\n# → {\"success\":true,\"output\":\"echo (python): world\",...}\nadom-desktop hellors_echo '{\"message\":\"world\"}'\n# → {\"success\":true,\"output\":\"echo (rust): world\",...}\n\n# Both appear in bridge_list\nadom-desktop bridge_list\n# → bundled three + \"hello-python\" + \"hello-rust\"\n```\n\n### Uninstall\n\n```bash\nadom-desktop bridge_uninstall '{\"name\":\"hello-python\"}'\nadom-desktop bridge_uninstall '{\"name\":\"hello-rust\"}'\n```\n\nEach bridge's cache dir + registry entry are removed; the chips disappear from the bar.\n\nThe sources live at:\n- [`scripts/sample-bridges/hello-python/`](https://github.com/adom-inc/adom-desktop/tree/main/scripts/sample-bridges/hello-python) — `bridge.json` + `server.py` (~120 lines of `http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler`)\n- [`scripts/sample-bridges/hello-rust/`](https://github.com/adom-inc/adom-desktop/tree/main/scripts/sample-bridges/hello-rust) — `bridge.json` + `Cargo.toml` + `src/main.rs` (~140 lines of `tiny_http`) + pre-built `hello-rust.exe` (~300 KB)\n\nFork whichever flavor matches your target's natural ecosystem.\n\n## Directory layout\n\n```\nmy-bridge/\n├── bridge.json         ← REQUIRED — schema below\n├── BRIDGE_VERSION      ← optional, semver line (kept in sync with bridge.json's version field)\n├── server.py           ← or server.js, or my-bridge.exe — your bridge's entrypoint\n├── handlers/           ← your code\n│   ├── ...\n└── README.md           ← optional, recommended\n```\n\n## `bridge.json` schema\n\n```json\n{\n  \"manifest_version\": 1,\n  \"name\": \"altium\",\n  \"displayName\": \"Altium Designer\",\n  \"version\": \"1.0.0\",\n  \"description\": \"One-line description shown in bridge_list output.\",\n  \"homepage\": \"https://github.com/your-org/adom-bridge-altium\",\n  \"author\": \"Your Org\",\n  \"license\": \"MIT\",\n  \"spawn\": {\n    \"kind\": \"python\",\n    \"entrypoint\": \"server.py\",\n    \"port\": 0,\n    \"healthEndpoint\": \"/status\",\n    \"stopMethod\": \"kill\",\n    \"killImageName\": \"python.exe\"\n  },\n  \"verbPrefixes\": [\"altium_\"],\n  \"verbs\": [\n    \"altium_open_project\",\n    \"altium_export_step\",\n    \"altium_run_drc\"\n  ],\n  \"dependencies\": {\n    \"python\": \">=3.11\",\n    \"altium-designer\": \">=24\"\n  },\n  \"category\": \"EDA\",\n  \"tags\": [\"pcb\", \"altium\", \"commercial\"]\n}\n```\n\n### Field reference\n\n- **`name`** (required, lowercase, no spaces). The directory name + cache key. Must be unique across the registry.\n- **`displayName`** — human-friendly shown in `bridge_list` + future GUI bridge panel.\n- **`version`** (required, semver). Each ship bumps this.\n- **`spawn.kind`** — `python` | `node` | `exe`. Determines how Adom Desktop launches the bridge.\n    - `python` → Adom Desktop finds Python in PATH and runs `python <entrypoint> --port <port>`. Good when the vendor's SDK has Python bindings.\n    - `node` → Adom Desktop finds Node in PATH and runs `node <entrypoint> --port <port>`. Good for ecosystem reuse (Puppeteer, Playwright, etc.).\n    - `exe` → Adom Desktop runs `<entrypoint> --port <port>` directly. The entrypoint must be a pre-built executable in the zip. Good for Rust, Go, .NET single-file builds, etc. — no runtime install required on the user's machine.\n- **`spawn.entrypoint`** — relative path inside the bridge dir (e.g. `server.py`, `server.js`, `my-bridge.exe`).\n- **`spawn.port`** — **set to `0`** (v1.8.31+ recommended). Adom Desktop picks an OS-assigned ephemeral port at spawn time and passes it to your `--port` arg. No collision possible between bridges. Hardcoded ports still work for back-compat but are deprecated — anything you pick will eventually collide with someone (Hydrogen Desktop's bridges already used 8772/8773/8851; static-port collisions are the #1 source of bridge \"won't start\" bugs). Bridge ports are internal plumbing — callers always route through `adom-desktop <prefix>_<verb>`, never reach a bridge directly.\n- **`spawn.healthEndpoint`** — path Adom Desktop polls to confirm the bridge is alive (e.g. `/status`, `/health`). v1.8.31+ accepts a path-only fragment (recommended) and constructs the URL using the runtime port. Legacy full URLs (`http://127.0.0.1:8881/status`) still parse — the host+port get replaced at runtime.\n- **`spawn.stopMethod`** — `kill` (process-handle Child::kill, NOT `taskkill /im` — that would nuke ALL Pythons on the box), `sigterm` (graceful), or `graceful_endpoint` (POST to an endpoint).\n- **`spawn.killImageName`** — legacy field, only used if Adom Desktop falls back to image-name kill. With v1.8.31's dynamic ports + process-handle kill this is rarely needed. Set to your process name for safety (`python.exe` / `node.exe` / your binary name).\n- **`verbPrefixes`** — list of CLI verb prefixes this bridge owns (e.g. `[\"altium_\"]`). All `altium_*` verbs route here.\n- **`verbs`** — explicit verb list. Used in `bridge_list` to advertise capabilities; doesn't affect routing.\n\n## Packaging + shipping\n\nUse the same `scripts/release-bridge.sh` flow Adom Desktop uses for its own bridges. Adapted for third parties:\n\n```bash\n# In your bridge repo:\npython3 -c \"\nimport zipfile, os, fnmatch\nEXCLUDE = ['*/__pycache__/*', '*.pyc', '.history/*', '*/node_modules/*']\nwith zipfile.ZipFile('my-bridge-v1.0.0.zip', 'w', zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as zf:\n    for root, dirs, files in os.walk('.'):\n        for f in files:\n            rel = os.path.relpath(os.path.join(root, f), '.')\n            if any(fnmatch.fnmatch(rel.replace(os.sep, '/'), g) for g in EXCLUDE):\n                continue\n            zf.write(os.path.join(root, f), rel)\n\"\n\n# Compute SHA256 of the zip\nsha256sum my-bridge-v1.0.0.zip\n\n# Write the manifest the GUI polls\ncat > my-bridge-manifest.json <<EOF\n{\n  \"manifest_version\": 1,\n  \"version\": \"1.0.0\",\n  \"url\": \"https://your-host/my-bridge-v1.0.0.zip\",\n  \"sha256\": \"<sha256 from above>\",\n  \"size\": <bytes>,\n  \"released_at\": \"$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)\"\n}\nEOF\n```\n\nHost both files anywhere reachable by HTTPS — GitHub Pages, your own CDN, the Adom Wiki if you contribute to the official registry.\n\n## Installing\n\nUsers install your bridge with one command:\n\n```bash\nadom-desktop bridge_install '{\"manifestUrl\":\"https://your-host/my-bridge-manifest.json\"}'\n```\n\nThe GUI:\n1. Fetches `my-bridge-manifest.json`\n2. Downloads the referenced zip\n3. SHA256-verifies against the manifest\n4. Extracts to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\\Adom Desktop\\bridges-cache\\<name>\\` (the `name` comes from your `bridge.json`)\n5. Rescans the runtime registry — your bridge is now discoverable via `bridge_list`\n\nThe next CLI call to one of your `verbPrefixes` auto-spawns the bridge process.\n\n## Updating\n\nBump `bridge.json`'s `version` + `BRIDGE_VERSION`, rebuild the zip, re-upload, update the manifest. Users:\n\n```bash\nadom-desktop refresh_bridges   # picks up new versions from manifest URLs they previously installed from\n```\n\n(Currently `refresh_bridges` only polls the three core wiki manifests. The follow-up work — tracking third-party manifest URLs in user state so they auto-refresh — lands in v1.8.x.)\n\n## Lifecycle controls (from cloud Docker, or local GUI)\n\n```bash\nadom-desktop bridge_list                              # see everything\nadom-desktop bridge_pause '{\"name\":\"altium\"}'         # stop routing verbs\nadom-desktop bridge_resume '{\"name\":\"altium\"}'\nadom-desktop bridge_uninstall '{\"name\":\"altium\"}'     # remove from cache\n```\n\n## Trust + security\n\nFor v1.8.0 the trust model is SHA256-verification of the wiki-hosted zip against the manifest. Bridges run with the user's privileges; install from sources you trust.\n\nFuture work (v1.9.0+):\n- Optional Ed25519 signing of bridge zips with the Adom-Inc public key for \"verified\" status\n- Per-bridge sandboxing (limited filesystem / network access declared in manifest `permissions` field)\n- Community submission flow on the wiki so contributors don't need a GitHub account\n\n## Reference implementations\n\nEvery bridge below has its own dedicated wiki page with hero, install/uninstall recipes, and a \"fork this\" walkthrough. The **[bridges registry](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/apps/adom-desktop-bridges-registry)** is the canonical directory — both humans browse it and the GUI's Browse tab parses it.\n\n**Hello-world starter templates** — fork these for a 5-minute \"does this thing work?\" loop:\n- **[hello-python](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/apps/adom-desktop-hello-python-bridge)**: `scripts/sample-bridges/hello-python/` — ~80 lines, stdlib only, `kind:python`\n- **[hello-rust](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/apps/adom-desktop-hello-rust-bridge)**: `scripts/sample-bridges/hello-rust/` — ~140 lines, `tiny_http` + serde, `kind:exe`, single 300-KB static binary\n\n**Adom-shipped bridges** — canonical full-complexity examples; fork their layout for a real vendor integration:\n- **[kicad](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/apps/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge)**: `plugins/kicad/` — Python, complex, multi-instance (one bridge per KiCad GUI exe)\n- **[puppeteer](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/apps/adom-desktop-puppeteer-bridge)**: `plugins/puppeteer/` — Node, single-instance, recording-capable\n- **[fusion360](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/apps/adom-desktop-fusion-bridge)**: `plugins/fusion360/` — Python, simpler, command-passthrough to Fusion add-in\n\n## Get listed\n\nOnce your bridge is stable, add it to the **[bridges registry](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/apps/adom-desktop-bridges-registry)** — that's the canonical machine-readable directory the GUI's Browse tab parses to discover what's installable. Two paths:\n\n1. **PR-based** (preferred): open a PR against [`adom-inc/adom-desktop`](https://github.com/adom-inc/adom-desktop) adding your row to the \"Community bridges\" table in this file (`plugins/BRIDGES.md`). A maintainer mirrors it to the wiki on the next sync. See the registry page's [submission section](https://wiki-ufypy5dpx93o.adom.cloud/apps/adom-desktop-bridges-registry#how-to-submit-a-bridge) for the row format + review criteria.\n2. **Direct wiki edit**: if you have an Adom account, `adom-wiki page edit apps/adom-desktop-bridges-registry --field content --body-md <patch>`. Maintainers review and either keep or revert.\n",
  "author": {
    "id": "695820315b5f1e4db2fcf602",
    "name": "Kyle Bergstedt",
    "email": "[email protected]"
  },
  "visibility": {
    "public": true
  },
  "hero": null,
  "metadata": {},
  "created_at": "2026-05-28T05:28:40.558Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-05-28T05:28:40.558Z",
  "skills": []
}