chanchanchanchan

An Electron-based 4chan browsing application for desktop (Linux, macOS, Windows).

Features

• Thread Pinning: Pin important threads for quick access
• Update Notifications: Visual indicators when pinned threads have new replies
• Tabbed Browsing: Multiple threads open at once with configurable tab bar position (top/bottom)
• Media Downloads: Download images and videos with folder selection
• Reverse Image Search: Quick TinEye search for any post media
• Reply Sidebar: Always-visible reply panel on the right side
• Responsive Design: Works well in small windows for single monitor setups

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• npm or yarn

Setup

npm install

Note for Node.js 24+: If better-sqlite3 fails to compile, you need to set the C++20 flag:

export CXXFLAGS="-std=c++20" && npm install

Note for Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): If you get architecture mismatch errors, rebuild the native module for Electron:

npm run rebuild-sqlite

This uses @electron/rebuild to ensure the native module matches Electron's architecture.

Build

npm run build

Run

npm start

Development Mode

npm run dev

Technology Stack

• Electron: Desktop application framework
• TypeScript: Type-safe development
• SQLite (better-sqlite3): State management and persistence
• Functional Programming: Pure functions and immutable data patterns
• No any types: Strict type checking enforced

Project Structure

chanchanchanchan/
├── src/              # Main process TypeScript source
│   ├── main.ts      # Electron main process
│   ├── preload.ts   # Preload script for IPC
│   ├── database.ts  # SQLite database management
│   ├── api/         # 4chan API integration
│   └── types.ts     # TypeScript type definitions
├── renderer/         # Renderer process (UI)
│   ├── index.html   # Main HTML
│   ├── styles.css   # Styling
│   ├── renderer.ts  # Renderer logic
│   └── api.ts       # 4chan API client
└── dist/            # Compiled output

License

MIT