diff --git a/surfsense_desktop/src/main.ts b/surfsense_desktop/src/main.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..920bde4f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/surfsense_desktop/src/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+import { app, BrowserWindow, shell, ipcMain } from 'electron';
+import path from 'path';
+import { spawn, ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
+
+const isDev = !app.isPackaged;
+let mainWindow: BrowserWindow | null = null;
+let serverProcess: ChildProcess | null = null;
+
+const SERVER_PORT = 3000;
+
+function getStandalonePath(): string {
+  if (isDev) {
+    return path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', 'surfsense_web', '.next', 'standalone');
+  }
+  return path.join(process.resourcesPath, 'standalone');
+}
+
+function startNextServer(): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    // In dev mode, Next.js dev server is already running externally
+    if (isDev) {
+      resolve();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const standalonePath = getStandalonePath();
+    const serverScript = path.join(standalonePath, 'server.js');
+
+    serverProcess = spawn(process.execPath, [serverScript], {
+      cwd: standalonePath,
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        PORT: String(SERVER_PORT),
+        HOSTNAME: 'localhost',
+        NODE_ENV: 'production',
+      },
+      stdio: 'pipe',
+    });
+
+    serverProcess.stdout?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
+      const output = data.toString();
+      console.log(`[next] ${output}`);
+      if (output.includes('Ready') || output.includes('started server')) {
+        resolve();
+      }
+    });
+
+    serverProcess.stderr?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
+      console.error(`[next] ${data.toString()}`);
+    });
+
+    serverProcess.on('error', reject);
+    serverProcess.on('exit', (code) => {
+      if (code !== 0 && code !== null) {
+        reject(new Error(`Next.js server exited with code ${code}`));
+      }
+    });
+
+    // Fallback: resolve after 5s even if we don't see the "Ready" message
+    setTimeout(() => resolve(), 5000);
+  });
+}
+
+function killServer() {
+  if (serverProcess && !serverProcess.killed) {
+    serverProcess.kill();
+    serverProcess = null;
+  }
+}
+
+function createWindow() {
+  mainWindow = new BrowserWindow({
+    width: 1280,
+    height: 800,
+    minWidth: 800,
+    minHeight: 600,
+    webPreferences: {
+      preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.js'),
+      contextIsolation: true,
+      nodeIntegration: false,
+      sandbox: true,
+      webviewTag: false,
+    },
+    show: false,
+    titleBarStyle: 'hiddenInset',
+  });
+
+  mainWindow.once('ready-to-show', () => {
+    mainWindow?.show();
+  });
+
+  mainWindow.loadURL(`http://localhost:${SERVER_PORT}/login`);
+
+  // External links open in system browser, not in the Electron window
+  mainWindow.webContents.setWindowOpenHandler(({ url }) => {
+    if (url.startsWith('http://localhost')) {
+      return { action: 'allow' };
+    }
+    shell.openExternal(url);
+    return { action: 'deny' };
+  });
+
+  if (isDev) {
+    mainWindow.webContents.openDevTools();
+  }
+
+  mainWindow.on('closed', () => {
+    mainWindow = null;
+  });
+}
+
+// IPC handlers
+ipcMain.on('open-external', (_event, url: string) => {
+  shell.openExternal(url);
+});
+
+ipcMain.handle('get-app-version', () => {
+  return app.getVersion();
+});
+
+// App lifecycle
+app.whenReady().then(async () => {
+  await startNextServer();
+  createWindow();
+
+  app.on('activate', () => {
+    if (BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().length === 0) {
+      createWindow();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+app.on('window-all-closed', () => {
+  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+    app.quit();
+  }
+});
+
+app.on('will-quit', () => {
+  killServer();
+});