VoxAgent — AI Coding Guidelines

Project Overview

VoxAgent is a voice-controlled desktop AI agent. It listens for "Hey Vox", transcribes speech, routes intents through a tiered model system, executes actions, and responds via TTS.

Architecture Rules

Module Boundaries (Python Agent)

Module Boundaries (Python Agent)

• core/ — Pipeline modules (ears, brain, hands, eyes, mouth, autopilot, memory). These MUST remain provider-agnostic.
• providers/ — All model/API integrations. Every provider implements abstract interfaces from providers/base.py.
• system/ — OS-specific code ONLY. All system integration code must implement SystemAutomation from system/base.py.
• skills/ — Task implementations. Each skill must extend BaseSkill and declare execution_tiers + permissions.

Critical Design Principles

1. Provider-agnostic: Core modules NEVER import specific providers directly. Always go through providers/registry.py.
2. Execution Priority (Tier A→D): When implementing skills, always prefer Shell/API over UI automation. UI/mouse is LAST RESORT.
   • Tier A: Native API / Shell (subprocess, os, ctypes)
   • Tier B: App / Service API (Playwright CDP, REST APIs)
   • Tier C: UI Automation (pywinauto, pyobjc, AT-SPI)
   • Tier D: Mouse / Keyboard (PyAutoGUI) — only when no other option
3. Cross-platform: Use system/base.py interface. Never use win32-specific code outside system/windows.py.
4. Security: API keys go in OS keyring via keyring library, NEVER in config files. Skills must declare permissions.

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Dashboard Architecture Rules (React/TypeScript)

Separation of Concerns — NO MIX CONCERNS

Every feature module MUST follow this folder structure:

features/{feature}/
├── components/            # UI only — no business logic
│   └── organisms/
│       └── {Component}/
│           └── {Component}.tsx
├── containers/            # Page-level composition + orchestration
│   └── {Feature}View.tsx
├── hooks/                 # Custom React hooks — API + state logic
│   └── use{Feature}.ts
├── types/                 # ALL type definitions for this feature
│   ├── index.ts           # Barrel re-export ONLY (no definitions)
│   ├── {feature}.types.ts # Domain/data types
│   └── components.types.ts# Component prop types
├── constants/             # Static data, mock data, enums, mappings
│   ├── index.ts           # Barrel re-export ONLY (no definitions)
│   ├── mocks.ts           # Mock/fallback data
│   └── ui.ts              # UI-related constants (styles, categories)
└── utils/                 # Pure utility functions
    ├── index.ts           # Barrel re-export ONLY (no definitions)
    └── {name}.ts          # Individual util modules

Rules:

1. Types go in types/ — NEVER define interfaces/types inline in component or hook files. Always import from @features/{feature}/types or @shared/types.
2. Constants go in constants/ — NEVER define static arrays, maps, mock data, or configuration objects inline in components or hooks. Always import from @features/{feature}/constants or @shared/constants.
3. Utils go in utils/ — Pure functions (formatters, filters, validators) MUST be in utils. Components and hooks should only contain React-specific logic.
4. Components are pure UI — Organisms receive data via props. No API calls, no direct state management beyond local UI state (open/close, hover, etc.).
5. Hooks own the data — All API fetching, state management, and side effects belong in hooks.
6. Containers orchestrate — Containers wire hooks to components. They should be thin — mostly just importing + composing.
7. index.ts is barrel-only — NEVER put definitions directly in index.ts. It should only re-export from sibling files. Split into multiple focused files by concern.

Import Rules (enforced by ESLint):

• BANNED: Relative parent imports (../) — use @shared/* or @features/* path aliases.
• Cross-feature imports: Features MUST NOT import from other features directly. Share through @shared/.
• Barrel exports: Each folder (types/, constants/, utils/, components/organisms/) MUST have an index.ts barrel re-export.

Shared Module (shared/)

shared/
├── api/           # API client, interceptors
├── components/    # Reusable atoms, molecules, organisms, templates
├── types/         # Shared TypeScript interfaces
├── constants/     # App-wide constants (routes, config)
└── utils/         # App-wide utilities

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Code Style

Python

• Python 3.12+
• Type hints on all public methods
• async/await for all I/O operations
• Use ruff for formatting and linting
• Use mypy for type checking
• Docstrings in Vietnamese or English (both OK)

TypeScript/React

• React 19+ with functional components only
• Strict TypeScript (exactOptionalPropertyTypes: true)
• Use eslint for linting
• Named exports only (no default exports)
• File naming: PascalCase for components, camelCase for hooks/utils

Testing

• Every new skill needs tests in tests/test_skills.py
• Every new provider needs tests in tests/test_providers.py
• Mock external APIs, never make real API calls in tests
• Target: >80% coverage on core/ and skills/

File Naming

• Python modules: snake_case.py
• Skills: skills/{skill_name}.py matching the name field in the class
• Providers: providers/{type}/{provider_name}.py
• Tests: tests/test_{module}.py
• React components: PascalCase.tsx
• React hooks: use{Name}.ts
• Types/Constants/Utils: index.ts (barrel) or {name}.ts

Commit Convention

• feat: new feature
• fix: bug fix
• refactor: code restructuring
• docs: documentation only
• test: test changes
• chore: build/config changes