Web Mode
Web mode is a constrained projection of Nimi. It can present selected platform and product surfaces in the browser, but it does not inherit Desktop-native runtime, local, mod, window, or shell capabilities.
The kernel rules behind Web behavior live under the Web release contract and the Desktop web adapter.
What Is Disabled In Web
The Web adapter disables surfaces that depend on Desktop or Tauri-like capabilities:
- Native runtime bootstrap.
- Mod registration and the in-process hook runtime.
- External-agent bridges that depend on native processes.
- Native window management and OS integrations.
- Sensitive token persistence beyond what browsers can safely offer.
These constraints are not arbitrary. Each one corresponds to a contract that the browser cannot satisfy without weakening user safety or content integrity.
What Web Can Still Do
Web can present admitted surfaces that are safe in a constrained projection:
- Explain the platform, route users through public docs, and host browser-safe product surfaces when those surfaces are admitted.
- Surface read-oriented experiences whose contracts have been admitted as web-safe.
- Provide entry points back into the Desktop shell for users who need full capability.
The Web role is to be a real surface, but a deliberately smaller one than Desktop.
Reader Scenario: A Capability Available Only On Desktop
Suppose a user follows a public link to a Nimi page in a browser, and the page references a feature that depends on a native runtime capability. The Web adapter does not silently fall back to a degraded version. The expected behavior under the contract is:
- The browser surface explains that the feature requires Desktop.
- Native bootstrap is not implied.
- The user is not led to believe the browser is running the feature.
This honesty matters. A silent fallback would lie about the actual posture of the system.
Reader Scenario: A Mod Author Wondering About Web
Suppose a mod author wants their mod to run on Web "for reach." Under the Web adapter, mods are not part of the Web surface. The author has two real options:
- Build a Desktop mod and accept that the surface is Desktop only.
- Propose a non-mod surface (for example, a content read pattern) that could be admitted as a web-safe projection.
Web mode does not become a smaller mod runtime by accident. If a capability is admitted for Web, that is an explicit contract change.