souveraine/.handoff-from-phone/discord-betterdiscord/TASK.md

# Task: Official Discord + BetterDiscord on SouveraineOS (Pixel 3, aarch64)

**Status:** BLOCKED on native Electron. Plan: cross-build Electron (and/or the Discord
package) on an x86 box or a beefier arm64 host, ship the artifacts back to the phone.

**Goal:** Run the *official* Discord desktop client on this device and inject
BetterDiscord into it (theming + plugins). Wrappers (Vesktop/WebCord/Legcord) were
explicitly rejected — we want stock Discord + BetterDiscord specifically.

---

## Device facts (verified on-device 2026-07-14)

- OS: **Souveraine OS (Arch Linux ARM)**, `ID_LIKE=arch`, BUILD_ID 20260707
- Arch: **aarch64**
- Pkg mgrs: `pacman`, `flatpak` (flathub system remote). AUR helpers present: `yay`, `paru`.
- Repo `bun` NOT present; installed manually to `~/.bun/bin/bun` (v1.3.14 aarch64).
- `~/.config/discord` exists but is EMPTY (no app version dir) — nothing to inject into yet.

### What's in the repos (checked with pacman -Ss)
- ✅ `extra/betterdiscordctl 1.6.1-1`  — BD manager CLI, installable, needs a Discord install to act on
- ✅ `extra/asar 4.1.2-1`             — makedep for the Discord PKGBUILD
- ✅ `jq`, `brotli`                   — present
- ❌ **NO `electron` package in any form** (no `electron`, no `electron36/37/...`).
     `pacman -Ssq electron` returns nothing. THIS IS THE BLOCKER.

### Flathub (all bundle their own Electron → run on arm64, but can't take BetterDiscord)
Vesktop `dev.vencord.Vesktop`, Equibop `org.equicord.equibop`, WebCord
`io.github.spacingbat3.webcord`, Dissent `so.libdb.dissent`, Legcord, GoofCord.
(Vesktop/Equibop have Vencord = plugins+themes, the closest BD-equivalent. Rejected for now.)

---

## Already done (in /home/casey/projects/BetterDiscord)

BetterDiscord cloned from GitHub + built successfully:
- `git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/BetterDiscord/BetterDiscord.git`
- `bun install` (510 pkgs) then `bun run build:production`  → **succeeded**
- Artifacts in `dist/`: `betterdiscord.js` (555kb), `main.js`, `preload.js`,
  `earlyRenderer.js`, editor bundle.  Version **1.13.14**, commit `c7ef1c5`.
- `bun run inject` → fails as expected: "No version dir in /home/casey/.config/discord"
  (no official Discord app to patch).

Injector expects a Discord Desktop install dir like `app-X.Y.Z` under the config path.

---

## The install path (why it's *almost* possible)

The AUR pkg **`discord_arch_electron`** (v1:1.0.146, 209 votes) is the target. Its PKGBUILD
(saved alongside this file as `PKGBUILD.x86-reference`) shows Discord's Linux app is
**JavaScript + app.asar + brotli `.distro` module blobs — arch-independent**. The ONLY
native pieces are:
  1. **Electron** (the runtime) — pulled via `depends=(electron)`. ← the real arch dependency
  2. **`discord_krisp/discord_krisp.node`** — x86-64 native noise-cancel lib; its
     `krisp-patcher.py` step WILL fail on aarch64. Krisp is OPTIONAL — comment it out,
     Discord still runs (PKGBUILD even says so).

So a working aarch64 build = **provide an arm64 Electron** + **skip Krisp** + flip `arch`.

### Concrete cross-build plan
1. Get/build an **aarch64 Electron** matching Discord's required major (Discord 1.0.146
   era ships on a recent Electron — check `core/resources/app/package.json` `electronVersion`
   or the bundled build_info after extracting the tarball). Options:
   - Build the Arch `electron` PKGBUILD for aarch64 on a cross host (heavy: Chromium).
   - OR reuse a prebuilt arm64 Electron (e.g. from npm `electron` arm64 dist, or Alpine/Debian
     arm64 electron) and repackage.
2. Fork the `discord_arch_electron` PKGBUILD:
   - `arch=('x86_64' 'aarch64')`
   - point `depends` at whatever electron pkg you produce (or vendor it)
   - COMMENT OUT the Krisp patcher block in `build()` (lines ~131-139) and the
     `discord_krisp` source line — OR guard it `[[ $CARCH == x86_64 ]]`.
   - The `.distro` module URLs are `/linux/x64/` paths but contents are JS/resources;
     they should work under arm64 electron. Verify at runtime.
3. `makepkg -si` on-device (or build the pkg on the cross host and `pacman -U` the .pkg.tar.zst here).
4. Once `/usr/share/discord` + `/usr/bin/discord` exist and launch:
   - `betterdiscordctl install`  (repo pkg already available)  — OR —
   - from `~/projects/BetterDiscord`:  `bun run inject`  (now finds the app dir).
5. Launch Discord, confirm BetterDiscord loaded (Settings → BetterDiscord panel).

### Risks / open questions
- Electron major-version mismatch vs what Discord's app.asar expects → white screen / API breakage.
  Match the major as closely as possible.
- Voice: without Krisp, noise suppression off, but voice/WebRTC should still work (Electron's).
- Discord may nag to "update" — PKGBUILD already sets `newUpdater=false` in build_info.json; keep that.
- app.asar is repacked to use system electron paths (`/usr/share/discord/resources`); BetterDiscord
  injects into that asar/app — make sure BD inject runs AFTER the pkg's asar repack, against the
  installed `/usr/share/discord/resources/app.asar`.

---

## Resume checklist (fast path)
- [ ] Produce aarch64 Electron artifact (matching Discord's electron major)
- [ ] Fork PKGBUILD: arch+=aarch64, swap electron dep, disable Krisp
- [ ] Build pkg (cross or on-device), install with pacman
- [ ] `discord` launches to login screen on the phone
- [ ] Inject BetterDiscord (`betterdiscordctl install` or `bun run inject` from ~/projects/BetterDiscord)
- [ ] Verify BD settings panel appears; load a theme/plugin

## Key paths
- BetterDiscord source+build: `/home/casey/projects/BetterDiscord` (dist/ built, v1.13.14)
- This task dir:              `/home/casey/projects/unfinished/discord-betterdiscord/`
- Reference PKGBUILD:         `./PKGBUILD.x86-reference`
- bun binary:                `~/.bun/bin/bun`