parker

## What it is Parker is a resident menu-bar app for macOS, described in its README as "the scratchpad for vibe coding." It is meant for long prompts, task lists, quick snippets and throwaway notes — positioned as faster than Apple Notes and lighter than VS Code. It is summoned with a global shortcut, used, and dismissed. The project is explicitly labeled beta and personal: a passion project shared publicly, offered with no guarantees and no support. ## Key capabilities - **Speed-oriented editing** — README claims it opens instantly with no splash screen, spinners or syncing indicators. - **Keyboard-first** — a global shortcut summons the app, and most actions are reachable without a mouse. - **Small footprint** — a native shell built on Tauri, stated as roughly 10 MB. - **Auto-save plus optional git backup** — saving is always on; an optional git backup mode commits and pushes every save, giving a versioned history to roll back. - **Split panes and live Markdown preview** shown side by side. - **Eight themes** — Vercel Night & Day, GitHub Light & Dark, Playa, Playa at Night, Matrix and Blueprint. ## Data handling Parker operates on a plain folder of files that the user selects. The README states it always writes straight to disk as `.md`, `.txt` and code files — no database and no vendor-operated servers. It is described as sync-agnostic, so users can point iCloud, Dropbox or another sync tool at the folder; git backup sits on top of the files rather than replacing where they live. ## Install and build Releases provide a `.dmg` for macOS 12+ on Apple Silicon (arm64); the README notes it does not run on Intel Macs, and that builds are signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized. Building from source requires Rust, Node and pnpm, using `pnpm tauri dev` and `pnpm tauri build`. ## Tech stack | Layer | Choice | |-------|--------| | Shell | Tauri 2 (Rust backend plus system WebView) | | UI | React and TypeScript | | Editor | CodeMirror 6 | ## Repository layout A single repository holds the Mac frontend (`src/`), the Rust backend (`src-tauri/`), static assets (`public/`), the landing page (`site/`, deployed to Vercel), shared contracts (`shared/`) and an in-progress iPhone companion (`ios/`, with a UI-free Swift core called ParkerCore). Design tokens and to-do fixtures are generated or shared so the Mac and iPhone render notes consistently. ## Testing and contributing Frontend logic is tested with `pnpm test` and the Rust backend with `cargo test`; both run on every push. The README states coverage includes the split layout tree, to-do state machine, Markdown renderer, note-name validation, atomic writes and git output parsers, while UI components and CodeMirror wiring are not yet covered. Issues and pull requests are welcome, with a request to open an issue first for substantial changes and keep contributions small and focused. Licensed under MIT.