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Desktop Apps• July 2026•
In-Progress

FlowDesk - Cross-Platform Collaborative Workspace

C#
.NET 10
Avalonia UI
SignalR
SQLite
Entity Framework Core
MVVM Toolkit
FlowDesk - Cross-Platform Collaborative Workspace Preview

Overview

FlowDesk is a highly responsive, cross-platform collaborative workspace application designed for seamless team productivity. Built with .NET and Avalonia UI, it runs natively on macOS, Windows, and Linux. FlowDesk redefines how teams manage projects, tasks, and documents by offering unparalleled flexibility—whether working completely offline, discovering peers on a local network (LAN), or connecting to a self-hosted server.

Key Features

  • Multi-Mode Workspace Architecture: Seamlessly switch between Private (Offline-first), Local (LAN Network Discovery using UDP Broadcasts), and Server (Cloud-hosted) workspaces.
  • Full Real-Time Synchronization: Powered by SignalR and WeakReferenceMessenger, any changes made to tasks, documents, or projects instantly reflect across all connected devices in the network—no refresh needed.
  • Advanced Document Management: Built-in Markdown and Rich Text editor with live preview, real-time collaboration, and granular file permissions (Viewer vs. Editor).
  • Premium Neo-Modern UI: A deeply customized, aesthetically pleasing user interface utilizing glassmorphism, dynamic gradients, and smooth micro-animations. It fully supports System-wide Dark and Light themes.
  • Standalone Cross-Platform Delivery: CI/CD optimized to distribute the app as standalone, single-file executables (.dmg for macOS, .exe for Windows, and .tar.gz for Linux) without requiring users to install external runtimes.

Technical Highlights

Developing FlowDesk involved solving complex engineering challenges, particularly around peer-to-peer network discovery and data concurrency. I implemented a custom background discovery service that uses UDP multicasting to automatically find host servers on a local network, gracefully handling firewall constraints.

The UI architecture rigorously follows the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern via the CommunityToolkit, ensuring high testability and clean separation of concerns. The local data is robustly managed using SQLite and Entity Framework Core, providing a blazing-fast offline experience that intelligently syncs up when a network connection is established.

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