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          <a href="../../">Home</a> / <a href="../">Guides</a> / JavaScript
          &amp; Electron
        </p>
        <h1>Trace an Electron<br />CSV export.</h1>
        <p class="lede">
          Follow a button click from the page API, through Electron IPC, to the
          CSV file writer.
        </p>
      </div>
      <div class="article-layout">
        <nav class="contents" aria-label="On this page">
          <p>In this guide</p>
          <ul>
            <li><a href="#example">The example</a></li>
            <li><a href="#ask">Ask your agent</a></li>
            <li><a href="#follow">Trace the export code</a></li>
            <li><a href="#try">Try the example</a></li>
            <li><a href="#next">Inspect the CSV writer</a></li>
          </ul>
        </nav>
        <article class="article" aria-label="JavaScript &amp; Electron">
          <section class="article-section" id="example">
            <h2>Where does “Export notes” go?</h2>
            <p>
              This guide uses a small Electron app. Clicking
              <strong>Export notes</strong> calls an API in the page, crosses
              into the main process, and writes a CSV. The behavior is spread
              across several files.
            </p>
            <figure class="workflow-figure">
              <p class="figure-title">
                The CSV export across Electron processes
              </p>
              <ol class="flow-steps">
                <li>
                  <span class="flow-label">Renderer → preload</span
                  ><span class="flow-node"><code>notes.exportCsv()</code></span
                  ><span class="flow-note"
                    ><code>renderer.js</code> calls the API exposed by
                    <code>preload.js</code>.</span
                  >
                </li>
                <li>
                  <span class="flow-label">Between processes</span
                  ><span class="flow-node"><code>notes:export</code></span
                  ><span class="flow-note"
                    >The preload invokes an IPC channel: a named message to the
                    main process.</span
                  >
                </li>
                <li>
                  <span class="flow-label">Main process</span
                  ><span class="flow-node">An export handler</span
                  ><span class="flow-note"
                    ><code>main.js</code> handles that channel and calls the CSV
                    writer.</span
                  >
                </li>
              </ol>
              <p class="flow-result">
                <code>csv.js</code> formats the notes →
                <code>main.js</code> writes <code>downloads/notes.csv</code>.
              </p>
              <figcaption>
                REA matches the literal IPC call to its handler and identifies
                the exposed API. The path is inferred from code; a runtime
                capture can check what executes.
              </figcaption>
            </figure>
          </section>
          <section class="article-section" id="ask">
            <h2>Ask about the CSV export</h2>
            <p>
              <a href="../../get-started/#agent">Connect your agent to REA</a>
              and give it the app directory or ASAR file:
            </p>
            <div class="agent-terminal">
              <div class="terminal-header">
                <span class="terminal-title"
                  ><span class="terminal-dots" aria-hidden="true"
                    ><i></i><i></i><i></i></span
                  >Your coding agent</span
                ><button
                  class="copy-button"
                  type="button"
                  data-copy="javascript-prompt"
                  aria-label="Copy example prompt"
                >
                  Copy
                </button>
              </div>
              <p class="terminal-prompt">
                <span class="prompt-symbol" aria-hidden="true">›</span
                ><span id="javascript-prompt"
                  >Use REA to find what happens when I export notes in this app.
                  Where is the CSV created?</span
                ><span class="terminal-cursor" aria-hidden="true"></span>
              </p>
            </div>
            <p class="caption">
              Example prompt. Include the absolute path to the application
              folder or <code>app.asar</code>.
            </p>
            <p>
              REA reads the application files and builds a map of entrypoints,
              modules and process boundaries. Your agent uses that map to narrow
              the investigation to the export feature.
            </p>
          </section>
          <section class="article-section" id="follow">
            <h2>Trace the export code</h2>
            <h3>The page calls a small API</h3>
            <div class="code-block">
              <div class="code-header">
                <span>renderer.js · example source</span>
              </div>
              <pre><code>document.querySelector(&quot;#export&quot;).addEventListener(&quot;click&quot;, async () =&gt; {
  const destination = await window.notes.exportCsv();
  document.querySelector(&quot;#status&quot;).textContent = `Saved to ${destination}`;
});</code></pre>
            </div>
            <p>
              The page knows the method name. The implementation lives in the
              preload, which exposes it to the renderer.
            </p>
            <div class="code-block">
              <div class="code-header">
                <span>preload.js · example source</span>
              </div>
              <pre><code>contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld(&quot;notes&quot;, {
  exportCsv: () =&gt; ipcRenderer.invoke(&quot;notes:export&quot;),
});</code></pre>
            </div>
            <p>
              REA records <code>notes.exportCsv</code> and the literal channel
              <code>notes:export</code>. It pairs that invocation with the
              single matching handler in the main process.
            </p>
            <div class="code-block">
              <div class="code-header">
                <span>main.js · example source</span>
              </div>
              <pre><code>ipcMain.handle(&quot;notes:export&quot;, () =&gt; {
  const destination = path.join(app.getPath(&quot;downloads&quot;), &quot;notes.csv&quot;);
  writeFileSync(destination, toCsv(notes), &quot;utf8&quot;);
  return destination;
});</code></pre>
            </div>
            <p>
              Reading the handler answers the original question:
              <code>csv.js</code> formats the notes, and the main process writes
              <code>notes.csv</code> into the user's Downloads folder.
            </p>
            <div class="code-block">
              <div class="code-header">
                <span>REA result · summary.ipc excerpt</span>
              </div>
              <pre><code>{
  &quot;literal_channels&quot;: 1,
  &quot;renderer_transmissions&quot;: 1,
  &quot;main_handlers&quot;: 1,
  &quot;paired_renderer_transmissions&quot;: 1,
  &quot;ambiguous_renderer_transmissions&quot;: 0
}</code></pre>
            </div>
            <p class="caption">
              Recorded by REA 4.1.0 on the downloadable example below. Source
              locations accompany the API, channel and handler findings.
            </p>
          </section>
          <section class="article-section" id="try">
            <h2>Analyze the example yourself</h2>
            <p>
              Download the example and unzip it. The archive contains the
              complete <code>notes-example</code> folder. Analyze it with
              Node.js and npm; Electron is not needed for this example.
            </p>
            <p>
              <a
                class="button"
                href="../../examples/notes-example.zip"
                download="notes-example.zip"
                >Download example ZIP</a
              >
            </p>
            <details class="evidence-details">
              <summary>Browse the six source files</summary>
              <ul class="example-files">
                <li>
                  <a href="../../examples/notes-electron/package.json" download
                    >package.json</a
                  >
                </li>
                <li>
                  <a href="../../examples/notes-electron/main.js" download
                    >main.js</a
                  >
                </li>
                <li>
                  <a href="../../examples/notes-electron/preload.js" download
                    >preload.js</a
                  >
                </li>
                <li>
                  <a href="../../examples/notes-electron/renderer.js" download
                    >renderer.js</a
                  >
                </li>
                <li>
                  <a href="../../examples/notes-electron/csv.js" download
                    >csv.js</a
                  >
                </li>
                <li>
                  <a href="../../examples/notes-electron/index.html" download
                    >index.html</a
                  >
                </li>
              </ul>
            </details>
            <div class="code-block">
              <div class="code-header">
                <span>Static application analysis</span
                ><button
                  class="copy-button"
                  type="button"
                  data-copy="javascript-command"
                  aria-label="Copy static application analysis"
                >
                  Copy
                </button>
              </div>
              <pre><code id="javascript-command">npx -y rea-agents@latest analyze-javascript-application \
  /absolute/path/to/notes-example --json</code></pre>
            </div>
            <p>
              Replace the path with the folder you unzipped. You should find one
              IPC channel and one matching handler in
              <code>normalized_result.summary.ipc</code>. Source locations are
              in <code>normalized_result.graph</code>.
            </p>
            <p>
              For your own app, use the same command with its directory or ASAR
              path. An agent can follow a literal string, API name or IPC
              channel with REA's feature tracing tools.
            </p>
          </section>
          <section class="article-section" id="next">
            <h2>Inspect the CSV writer</h2>
            <blockquote class="prompt">
              <p>
                Follow <code>notes:export</code> to its handler. Which inputs
                reach the CSV writer, and what happens if writing the file
                fails?
              </p>
            </blockquote>
            <p>
              Use the source locations to inspect those details. Computed
              channel names and ambiguous handlers can remain unresolved;
              runtime observations give you another way to investigate them.
            </p>
            <ul class="reading-list">
              <li>
                <a href="../../showcase/notion/"
                  >Follow Notion's clipboard bridge</a
                >
                <span>Apply the same approach to a packaged Electron app.</span>
              </li>
              <li>
                <a href="../browser/">Observe a browser export</a
                ><span
                  >Capture a real click and see which request it makes.</span
                >
              </li>
              <li>
                <a href="../native/">Follow a native function</a
                ><span
                  >Continue into a binary when a feature depends on native
                  code.</span
                >
              </li>
            </ul>
          </section>
        </article>
      </div>
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