Architecture Documentation

This section documents the system architecture of RustChat.

Overview

RustChat is a self-hosted team collaboration platform built with:

• Backend: Rust (Axum + Tokio + SQLx)
• Frontend: Vue 3 + TypeScript + Pinia
• Database: PostgreSQL 16+
• Cache/Events: Redis 7+
• Storage: S3-compatible (RustFS/MinIO)

Documentation Sections

System Architecture

• Overview - High-level system design and data flow
• Backend Architecture - Rust backend deep dive
• Frontend Architecture - Vue.js frontend structure
• WebSocket Architecture - Real-time communication
• Calls Deployment - Voice/video calls infrastructure

Data Model

• Database Schema - PostgreSQL schema overview
• Entity relationships
• Migration strategy

Key Design Decisions

• Dual API Strategy: Native /api/v1 + Mattermost-compatible /api/v4
• Separate Push Proxy: FCM/APNS credentials isolated in dedicated service
• Redis for Clustering: Cross-instance event fan-out without sticky sessions
• SQLx Compile-Time Checks: Schema/query validation at compile time
• Feature-Based Frontend: Domain-driven module organization

Diagrams

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Web / SPA Client                            │
│                  (Vue 3.5 + TypeScript + Pinia)                    │
└──────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┘
                               │ REST + WebSocket
                               ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      rustchat API Server                           │
│                      (Axum 0.8 + Tokio)                            │
│                                                                    │
│  /api/v1/*  ──── native API (internal clients)                     │
│  /api/v4/*  ──── Mattermost-compatible API (mobile/desktop)        │
└─────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────┘
                          │
        ┌─────────────────┼─────────────────┐
        ▼                 ▼                 ▼
   PostgreSQL           Redis           S3-compatible
   (primary data)    (events/cache)     (file storage)

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For API compatibility details: See Compatibility.