Last Updated: November 28, 2025
Status: Phase 3 In Progress
Goal: Build a functional Electron-based visual low-code builder that generates clean React code from a visual component editor, with AI assistance for component creation.
Target MVP Timeline: 14-18 weeks (with AI assistance via Cline/Claude)
- Phase 0 (Foundation): 2 weeks - Security specs, schema design, architecture validation
- Phase 1-5 (Implementation): 12-16 weeks - Core development
MVP Feature Scope: Schema Level 1 ONLY (see SCHEMA_LEVELS.md)
| Phase | Name | Status | Duration | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Foundation | ✅ Complete | ~2 weeks | Nov 19, 2025 |
| 1 | Application Shell | ✅ Complete | ~1 week | Nov 24, 2025 |
| 2 | Component Management | ✅ Complete | ~3 days | Nov 27, 2025 |
| 3 | Code Generation & Preview | 🔄 In Progress | ~2 days so far | - |
| 4 | Testing & Polish | 🔵 Not Started | Est. 2-3 weeks | - |
| 5 | Release Preparation | 🔵 Not Started | Est. 1-2 weeks | - |
Observation: Development is proceeding faster than original estimates due to effective AI-assisted development and thorough upfront planning.
- ✅ Can create new React project with Vite
- ✅ Can add/edit components visually (static properties only)
- ✅ Can organize component hierarchy (max 5 levels deep)
- ✅ Generates clean, standard React code
- 🔄 Preview works with hot reload (in progress)
- ✅ AI assists with component generation (Claude API integrated)
- ✅ All security measures implemented (SECURITY_SPEC.md)
- ❌ Expressions (Level 2 - Post-MVP)
- ❌ State management (Level 2 - Post-MVP)
- ❌ Event handlers (Level 2 - Post-MVP)
- ❌ Data connections / Database integration (Level 3 - Future)
- ❌ Real-time features / WebSockets (Level 3 - Future)
- ❌ AI code review (Level 3 - Future)
- ❌ Step debugger (Level 3 - Future)
- ❌ Bidirectional sync (Post-MVP)
- ❌ TypeScript support (Post-MVP Phase 6)
- ❌ Plugin system beyond React (Post-MVP Phase 8)
- ❌ Hosted backend with Parse Server (Post-MVP - see HOSTED_BACKEND.md)
AI/Cline Handled (70% of MVP):
- ✅ Electron app boilerplate and setup
- ✅ Basic React UI components (panels, trees, forms)
- ✅ File system operations (read/write/watch)
- ✅ JSON manifest management (CRUD operations)
- ✅ Code generation (Level 1 templates)
- ✅ Vite project scaffolding
- ✅ Basic IPC communication
- ✅ UI styling with Tailwind
Human Developer Required (30% of MVP):
- ✅ Security implementation review (P0)
- ✅ File watcher infinite loop prevention (P0)
- ✅ Architecture decisions and trade-offs
- 🔄 Complex error handling edge cases
- 🔄 Performance optimization
- 🔄 Security audit and validation
- 🔄 Testing strategy implementation
- 🔄 UX refinement and polish
Duration: ~2 weeks (completed Nov 19, 2025)
Status: ✅ All tasks complete and reviewed
- FileChangeTracker class with SHA-256 hash detection
- Prevents infinite loops between code generation and file watching
- Handles concurrent edits and slow file systems
-
95% test coverage
- APIKeyManager with keytar (OS keychain) integration
- APIUsageTracker for cost management and budget limits
- Input sanitization utilities
- 90-day key rotation warnings
- AES-256 encryption for sensitive data
- SchemaValidator enforcing Level 1 boundaries
- Blocks all Level 2/3 features with helpful messages
- Circular reference detection
- Depth and children limits (5 levels, 20 children)
- <100ms validation for 100 components
- Vitest configuration for unit and integration tests
- Test fixtures for manifests
- Coverage targets defined (90%+)
Duration: ~1 week (completed Nov 24, 2025)
Status: ✅ All tasks complete and reviewed
- Electron 28+ with React 18 and TypeScript
- Three-config TypeScript setup (electron, renderer, node)
- Secure IPC with contextBridge
- CSP configured (dev/prod split)
- Three-panel layout with react-resizable-panels
- Navigator panel (left) - component tree
- Editor panel (center) - preview
- Properties panel (right) - property editing
- Dark theme with Tailwind
- ProjectManager for create/open/save operations
- Vite project scaffolding
- .lowcode/ metadata directory structure
- Recent projects tracking
- ViteServerManager starts/stops Vite dev server
- PreviewPanel with iframe and viewport controls
- Zoom controls and device simulation
- Hot reload working
Duration: ~3 days (completed Nov 27, 2025)
Status: ✅ All tasks complete and human verified
- ComponentTree with hierarchical display
- Selection state management
- Add/delete component operations
- Expand/collapse nodes
- manifestStore (Zustand) for reactive state
- Auto-save with 500ms debounce
- Load/save to .lowcode/manifest.json
- Change detection
- PropertiesPanel with type-specific inputs
- String, number, boolean editors
- Styling editor (Tailwind classes)
- Real-time manifest updates
Completed faster than estimated (2 days vs 4-5 days)
- AIComponentGenerator with Claude API integration
- AIPromptDialog with cost estimation
- API key validation before storage
- Budget tracking and daily limits
- Level 1 enforcement on generated components
- Auto-fix for expression/state/event violations
Key Implementation Decisions:
- Using Claude Sonnet model for balance of quality/cost
- Cost estimation before every API call (no surprises)
- Debounced cost display (500ms) for smooth UX
- Level 1 violations auto-fixed, not rejected
Duration: Started Nov 27, 2025
Status: 🔄 Tasks 3.1-3.2 complete, Task 3.3 in progress
Completed: Nov 27, 2025
- Modular builder architecture:
- ImportBuilder - React + child component imports
- PropsBuilder - Destructuring with defaults
- JSXBuilder - Element tree generation
- CommentHeaderBuilder - @lowcode markers
- CodeAssembler - Combines all parts
- ReactCodeGenerator - Main orchestrator
- Prettier integration for formatting
- Template strings approach (simpler than AST for Level 1)
- Performance: 50 components in ~284ms (target was <500ms)
- 35 tests, all passing
Key Decision: Used template strings instead of AST manipulation (Babel) because Level 1 has simple, predictable output. AST would be needed for Level 2 expressions.
Completed: Nov 27, 2025 (1 day vs 3-4 day estimate)
- FileManager orchestrates all file operations
- ChangeDetector determines which components changed
- FileWriter integrates with FileChangeTracker (Phase 0)
- AppGenerator creates App.jsx and main.jsx
- Incremental generation (only changed components)
- User edit protection
Current Task
- GenerationService subscribes to manifest changes
- Debounced regeneration (300ms)
- generationStore for status tracking
- GenerationStatus UI component
- Vite HMR automatically updates preview
Expected Completion: ~1 day
Estimate: 2-3 weeks
- Unit tests for all core modules
- Integration tests for workflows
- E2E tests for critical paths
- Target: 90%+ coverage
- User-friendly error messages
- Error boundaries in UI
- Graceful degradation
- Error logging
- Profile and optimize hot paths
- Lazy loading for large projects
- Memory leak detection
- Startup time optimization
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Accessibility audit
- UI consistency pass
- Loading states and feedback
Estimate: 1-2 weeks
- User guide
- API documentation
- Tutorial creation
- Changelog
- Build configuration
- Installers (Windows, Mac, Linux)
- Auto-update setup
- Code signing
- Internal testing
- Bug fixes
- Performance validation
- Release candidate
- Expression system with sandboxing
- State management (local + global)
- Event handlers
- Computed properties
- Global functions
- Node-based logic system (React Flow)
See: SCHEMA_LEVELS.md - Level 2
- TypeScript support
- Component library plugins (MUI, Ant Design)
- Advanced styling system
- Performance optimization
- Plugin system interface
- Vue plugin
- Svelte plugin
See: PLUGIN_SYSTEM.md
- AST parsing of user edits
- AI-assisted reverse engineering
- Conflict resolution
- Protected regions
- Step debugger
- Real-time data connections
- Database integration
- AI code review
- Performance monitoring
- Hosted backend system (Parse Server)
See: SCHEMA_LEVELS.md - Level 3
See: HOSTED_BACKEND.md - Backend system
- Availability: Continuous throughout project
- Usage: Primary development tool for 70% of features
- Cost: ~$800-1,600 for MVP (API usage)
- Best For: UI implementation, CRUD operations, code generation
- Phase 0: Full-time (2 weeks) - Foundation
- Phase 1-3: Part-time (10-15 hours/week) - Architecture review
- Phase 4: Part-time (15-20 hours/week) - Feature review
- Phase 5: Full-time (4 weeks) - Testing, polish, release
- Total: ~320-400 hours for MVP
| Risk | Mitigation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Expression security vulnerabilities | Deferred to Level 2 with full security spec | ✅ Mitigated |
| File watcher infinite loops | FileChangeTracker with hash detection | ✅ Implemented |
| AI generates invalid code | Level 1 validation + auto-fix | ✅ Implemented |
| Preview crashes frequently | Error boundaries, sandboxing | 🔄 In progress |
| API costs spiral | Cost tracking, budget limits | ✅ Implemented |
| Risk | Mitigation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Feature creep | Strict Level 1 enforcement | ✅ Enforced |
| Database integration requests | Documented in Level 3 roadmap | ✅ Documented |
| TypeScript demands | Clear post-MVP timeline | ✅ Documented |
| Bidirectional sync pressure | Explained complexity, timeline | ✅ Documented |
✅ Functionality:
- ✅ Can create React project in < 2 minutes
- ✅ Can add 10+ components without issues
- ✅ Generated code compiles without errors
- 🔄 Preview loads in < 5 seconds
- ✅ AI generates usable components > 70% of time
- ✅ File operations complete in < 500ms
🔄 Stability:
- 🔄 No crashes in 1-hour session
- ✅ File watcher handles concurrent edits
- 🔄 Undo/redo works correctly
- 🔄 Manifest saves reliably
🔵 Security:
- ✅ API keys stored in OS keychain
- ✅ No Node.js exposure to renderer
- 🔄 Input sanitization complete
- 🔄 Security audit passed
🔵 Performance:
- ✅ Code generation < 100ms per component
- 🔄 UI responsive during operations
- 🔄 Memory usage < 500MB typical
- 🔄 Startup time < 5 seconds
| Decision | Choice | Rationale | Task |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code generation approach | Template strings | Simpler than AST for Level 1; AST needed for Level 2 | 3.1 |
| API model | Claude Sonnet | Balance of quality and cost | 2.4 |
| Cost estimation | Before every call | No surprise charges | 2.4 |
| Hash algorithm | SHA-256 | Industry standard, fast enough | 0.1 |
| Key storage | keytar | OS-native keychain integration | 0.2 |
| Debounce timing | 300ms generation, 500ms save | Responsive but not excessive | Various |
| Level 1 violations | Auto-fix, don't reject | Better UX for AI generation | 2.4 |
| Prettier | In-process | Faster than subprocess | 3.1 |
| Document | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| README.md | ✅ Updated Nov 28 | Progress tracking added |
| MVP_ROADMAP.md | ✅ Updated Nov 28 | This document |
| DOCUMENTATION_INDEX.md | 🔄 Needs update | Status dates outdated |
| COMPONENT_SCHEMA.md | Level indicators proposed but not applied | |
| HOSTED_BACKEND.md | ✅ Correct | Properly marked as future |
| CLINE_IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md | Phase statuses not marked |
Progress: The MVP is progressing faster than originally estimated, with Phases 0-2 complete and Phase 3 nearly finished. The AI-assisted development approach with Cline is proving highly effective, with tasks often completing in 25-50% of estimated time.
Next Steps:
- ✅ Complete Phase 0 (foundation) - DONE
- ✅ Complete Phase 1 (application shell) - DONE
- ✅ Complete Phase 2 (component management) - DONE
- 🔄 Complete Phase 3 (code generation) - IN PROGRESS
- 🔵 Begin Phase 4 (testing & polish)
- 🔵 Ship Schema Level 1 MVP
Expected MVP Completion: Weeks 12-14 (ahead of 14-18 week estimate)
See Also:
- SCHEMA_LEVELS.md - Feature progression
- SECURITY_SPEC.md - Security requirements
- TESTING_STRATEGY.md - Testing approach
- ARCHITECTURE.md - Technical implementation
- HOSTED_BACKEND.md - Future backend system
Last Updated: November 28, 2025
Status: ✅ Updated with current progress
Review Required: Project Lead