The Desktop Application#
Overview#
- The Desktop App is a lightweight Electron app that you install on your laptop or desktop.
The Desktop App is an Electron app that you install on Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu Desktop. It’s the main user interface for working with individual Workbench locations, and it provides a management console for your project repositories on different machines.
- The Desktop App installs in “remote only” mode, and you can optionally complete the “full local” install.
The Desktop App installs in less than a minute and gives you the full Workbench UX on remote machines. You just install Workbench on the remote and then configure the SSH access in the Desktop App. To work locally you can select the full local install to get the full UX on your laptop.
- Starting the Desktop App opens the Location Manager.
The Location Manager shows a list of location cards and ways to add more. You can add many remote locations but you can only have a single “local” location. Clicking a location cards opens the location in its own location window.
- Individual location windows provide a view to manage and use the projects on the location.
Locations are physically and logically isolated. Each location window shows the existing projects on the location and features to add more. Clicking a project card opens a separate tab for the project.
- Individual project tabs are where the majority of AI Workbench features show up.
Projects on a location are logically and physically isolated from each other. The project tab is the main UI for managing the files, containerized environment and applications in the container.
Key Concepts#
- Remote Only Mode
The first install of the Desktop App that lets you work right away on remote locations but doesn’t support working locally.
- Full Local Install
An installation step you do after installing the Desktop App to get the full application on your laptop or desktop for local development and compute.
- Location Manager
The application window that shows existing location cards and provides features to add or delete locations.
- Remote Location
A machine on a network that has AI Workbench installed. Represented by a location card in the Location Manager. Adding a remote location to the Desktop App involves configuring SSH information.
- Local Location
Your local machine after you’ve done the full local install. Represented by the “local” location card in the Location Manager. Adding “local” requires doing the full local install.
- Location Window
The application window that opens when you click the location card in the Location Manager. It shows project cards and provides features to add more or delete existing projects on the location.
- Project Tab
The project specific view in the location window that opens when you click a project card. It has all of the AI Workbench features to manage and work in the project. It’s where you can install packages, configure applications, version the project and start/stop the container and applications.
- Settings Window
The application window where you can configure settings like integrations for working with platforms like GitHub, GitLab or NVIDIA Brev. Also has settings for the application appearance, such as dark vs light mode.