diff --git a/desktop/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml b/.github/workflows/desktop-e2e.yml
similarity index 72%
rename from desktop/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml
rename to .github/workflows/desktop-e2e.yml
index 2585f0d13..d8e68d101 100644
--- a/desktop/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/desktop-e2e.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+name: desktop-e2e
 on:
   pull_request:
   push:
@@ -6,6 +7,10 @@ on:
 env:
   FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24: true
 
+defaults:
+  run:
+    working-directory: desktop
+
 jobs:
   e2e:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -16,7 +21,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
-          node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+          node-version-file: "desktop/.nvmrc"
 
       - run: |
           apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
@@ -31,14 +36,17 @@ jobs:
             libjavascriptcoregtk-4.1-dev \
             openssh-client
       - run: npm ci
-      - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+      # The version in desktop/rust-toolchain.toml, which cargo uses here.
+      - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@1.97.1
       - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+        with:
+          workspaces: desktop
 
       - name: Cache heartwood binaries
         uses: actions/cache@v5
         with:
-          path: tests/tmp/bin
-          key: heartwood-${{ hashFiles('tests/support/heartwood-release') }}
+          path: desktop/tests/tmp/bin
+          key: heartwood-${{ hashFiles('desktop/tests/support/heartwood-release') }}
 
       - run: scripts/install-binaries
       - run: npm run build:http
@@ -53,6 +61,6 @@ jobs:
         if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
         with:
-          name: e2e-artifacts
-          path: tests/artifacts
+          name: desktop-e2e-artifacts
+          path: desktop/tests/artifacts
           retention-days: 7
diff --git a/desktop/.github/workflows/lint.yaml b/.github/workflows/desktop-lint.yml
similarity index 73%
rename from desktop/.github/workflows/lint.yaml
rename to .github/workflows/desktop-lint.yml
index c9d43863a..299fb413e 100644
--- a/desktop/.github/workflows/lint.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/desktop-lint.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+name: desktop-lint
 on:
   pull_request:
   push:
@@ -6,6 +7,10 @@ on:
 env:
   FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24: true
 
+defaults:
+  run:
+    working-directory: desktop
+
 jobs:
   lint-typescript:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -14,7 +19,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
-          node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+          node-version-file: "desktop/.nvmrc"
 
       - run: npm ci
       - run: npm run check-js
@@ -33,9 +38,12 @@ jobs:
             libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
             libjavascriptcoregtk-4.1-dev
 
-      - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+      # The version in desktop/rust-toolchain.toml, which cargo uses here.
+      - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@1.97.1
         with:
           components: rustfmt, clippy
       - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+        with:
+          workspaces: desktop
 
       - run: scripts/check-rs
diff --git a/desktop/.github/workflows/unit-test.yaml b/.github/workflows/desktop-unit-test.yml
similarity index 71%
rename from desktop/.github/workflows/unit-test.yaml
rename to .github/workflows/desktop-unit-test.yml
index e71a02c93..3a6d5d162 100644
--- a/desktop/.github/workflows/unit-test.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/desktop-unit-test.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+name: desktop-unit-test
 on:
   pull_request:
   push:
@@ -6,6 +7,10 @@ on:
 env:
   FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24: true
 
+defaults:
+  run:
+    working-directory: desktop
+
 jobs:
   unit-tests:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -14,6 +19,6 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
-          node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+          node-version-file: "desktop/.nvmrc"
       - run: npm ci
       - run: npm run test:unit
diff --git a/desktop/.ryph/Dockerfile b/.ryph/Dockerfile
similarity index 76%
rename from desktop/.ryph/Dockerfile
rename to .ryph/Dockerfile
index 6068b206d..b1f8d446d 100644
--- a/desktop/.ryph/Dockerfile
+++ b/.ryph/Dockerfile
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ FROM ghcr.io/drips-network/ryph-universal:1
 
 USER root
 
-# Tauri's system libraries (radicle-desktop's cargo build, clippy and tests),
-# and bzip2 for radicle-explorer's .tar.bz2 test fixtures.
+# Tauri's system libraries (desktop/'s cargo build, clippy and tests), and
+# bzip2 for the explorer's .tar.bz2 test fixtures.
 RUN apt-get update \
  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
       libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ RUN apt-get update \
       bzip2 \
  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-# The OS libraries Playwright's browsers need: WebKit for radicle-desktop's e2e
-# tests, Chromium and WebKit for radicle-explorer's and always-on-node's. The
+# The OS libraries Playwright's browsers need: WebKit for desktop/'s e2e tests,
+# Chromium and WebKit for the explorer's and always-on-node's. The
 # browsers themselves are installed by each member's setup, keyed on its lockfile.
 RUN npx -y playwright@1.61.1 install-deps chromium webkit \
  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* /root/.npm \
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ USER runner
 # instead of using the image's newer Go.
 ENV MISE_IDIOMATIC_VERSION_FILE_ENABLE_TOOLS=node,python,deno,bun
 
-# Debug info is most of a warm target/ (8 GB of radicle-desktop's 13). Line
+# Debug info is most of a warm target/ (8 GB of desktop/'s 13). Line
 # tables keep file:line in panics and backtraces. Set for the whole machine,
 # so the image's warm build and every run's builds use the same profile.
 ENV CARGO_PROFILE_DEV_DEBUG=line-tables-only
diff --git a/.ryph/environment.md b/.ryph/environment.md
index 9d2a9fbb2..567f48f1f 100644
--- a/.ryph/environment.md
+++ b/.ryph/environment.md
@@ -1,13 +1,39 @@
-# radicle-explorer environment
+# radicle-gui environment
+
+This repository holds two projects: the explorer web app and `radicle-httpd`
+at the root, and the desktop app in `desktop/`. Each has its own npm package
+and Cargo workspace.
+
+`.ryph/Dockerfile` is written as the machine for the whole Radicle
+workspace, and a workspace builds only its environment repository's
+Dockerfile: the description of the machine above says which one this run
+is on. On top of the universal image it adds:
+
+- Tauri's system libraries (`libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev`,
+  `libjavascriptcoregtk-4.1-dev`, `libayatana-appindicator3-dev`,
+  `librsvg2-dev`, `libxdo-dev`), so the desktop crates build here;
+- the OS libraries Playwright's Chromium and WebKit need, and `bzip2`;
+- `golangci-lint` v2.14.0 in `/usr/local/bin`, for garden-broker;
+- `MISE_IDIOMATIC_VERSION_FILE_ENABLE_TOOLS=node,python,deno,bun`, so mise
+  does not read a `go.mod` `go` line as a pin: Go is the image's own.
+- `CARGO_PROFILE_DEV_DEBUG=line-tables-only`: dev and test builds carry
+  line tables, not full debug info. Backtraces keep file and line. Do not
+  override it, or every crate rebuilds.
 
 `.ryph/setup.yml` installs the npm dependencies and the pinned Radicle
-binaries (`tests/tmp/bin`), and warms clippy and the Rust test build in
-`target/`. Node 24.15.0 (`.nvmrc`) and Rust 1.97.1 (`rust-toolchain`) come
-from mise and rustup. The machine itself, from radicle-desktop's Dockerfile,
-carries Playwright's OS libraries and `bzip2`.
+binaries (`tests/tmp/bin`, `desktop/tests/tmp/bin`) for both projects,
+Playwright's Chromium for the explorer and its WebKit for the desktop app.
+At image build it warms clippy and the Rust test builds of both workspaces,
+and the desktop e2e backend (`test-http-api`, `rad-job`), in `target/` and
+`desktop/target/`. At run start it only reinstalls what the lockfiles
+changed, and cargo builds what a command needs when it runs. Node 24.15.0
+(`.nvmrc`) and Rust 1.97.1 (`rust-toolchain`, `desktop/rust-toolchain.toml`)
+come from mise and rustup.
 
 ## Checks (what CI runs)
 
+Explorer and `radicle-httpd`, from the repository root:
+
 ```sh
 npm run check
 npm run test:unit
@@ -18,11 +44,24 @@ cargo fmt --all -- --check
 cargo test --workspace --all-features
 cargo test -p radicle-httpd
 RUSTDOCFLAGS="-D warnings" cargo doc --workspace --all-features
+npm run test:e2e -- --project chromium
 ```
 
+Desktop, from `desktop/`:
+
+```sh
+npm run check-js        # svelte-check, eslint, prettier
+scripts/check-rs        # cargo fmt --check, clippy -Dwarnings, cargo test
+npm run test:unit
+npm run test:e2e        # WebKit; needs scripts/install-binaries, done by setup
+```
+
+In `desktop/`, `npm run check:ci` runs all of the desktop checks in order and
+logs to `desktop/tests/tmp/check-ci.log`. The machine has 2 CPUs: the Rust
+test builds and the e2e suites are the slow parts.
+
 ## What does not work here
 
-- `npm run test:e2e -- --project chromium` and the build smoke test: Playwright's
-  Chromium download redirects to `storage.googleapis.com`, which the egress
-  allowlist refuses. Leave e2e to CI.
-- Visual tests: their baselines exist only as CI artifacts.
+- The explorer's visual tests: their baselines exist only as CI artifacts.
+- There is no container runtime, so nothing that runs `docker` or `podman`
+  works (always-on-node's `pnpm test:e2e`, garden-broker's integration tests).
diff --git a/.ryph/setup.yml b/.ryph/setup.yml
index dfd40cc1b..39b0d51b1 100644
--- a/.ryph/setup.yml
+++ b/.ryph/setup.yml
@@ -1,20 +1,32 @@
 steps:
-  # An image layer keeps whole-second mtimes, but cargo fingerprints the
-  # nanoseconds it saw at build time. Rounding tracked files down to the
-  # second before building keeps the warm target/ fresh at run time. Never
-  # set them to the commit time: on an incremental image build that can make
-  # a changed file older than its stale build output.
-  - name: round source mtimes down to whole seconds (image builds only)
-    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || git ls-files -z | xargs -0 perl -e ''for (@ARGV) { next if -l; my $m = (lstat)[9]; utime $m, $m, $_ }'''
+  # Explorer and radicle-httpd, at the repository root.
   - name: install npm dependencies
     run: npm install --prefer-offline
+  - name: install Playwright Chromium (explorer e2e)
+    run: npx playwright install chromium
   - name: install the pinned Radicle binaries for http-client and e2e tests
     run: ./scripts/install-binaries
-  - name: warm clippy (check-rust lint)
-    run: RUSTFLAGS="-D warnings" cargo clippy --workspace --all-features --tests --locked
-  - name: warm the Rust test build (check-rust test)
-    run: cargo test --workspace --all-features --no-run --locked
+  # The cargo warm steps only fill the image's target/ directories. At run
+  # time cargo builds what a command needs when it runs, so a run that works
+  # on another workspace member doesn't wait for two Rust workspaces.
+  - name: warm clippy (check-rust lint, image builds only)
+    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || RUSTFLAGS="-D warnings" cargo clippy --workspace --all-features --tests --locked'
+  - name: warm the Rust test build (check-rust test, image builds only)
+    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || cargo test --workspace --all-features --no-run --locked'
+  # desktop/ is its own npm package and Cargo workspace.
+  - name: install desktop npm dependencies
+    run: cd desktop && npm install --prefer-offline
+  - name: install Playwright WebKit (desktop e2e)
+    run: cd desktop && npx playwright install webkit
+  - name: install the pinned Radicle binaries for desktop e2e tests
+    run: desktop/scripts/install-binaries
+  - name: warm desktop clippy (desktop/scripts/check-rs, image builds only)
+    run: 'cd desktop && mkdir -p build && { [ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --locked; }'
+  - name: warm desktop cargo test (desktop/scripts/check-rs, image builds only)
+    run: 'cd desktop && { [ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || cargo test --workspace --no-run --locked; }'
+  - name: warm the desktop e2e backend (desktop/tests/support/globalSetup.ts, image builds only)
+    run: 'cd desktop && { [ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || { cargo build --manifest-path ./crates/test-http-api/Cargo.toml --locked && cargo build -p radicle-job --bin rad-job --locked; }; }'
   # rustc's incremental cache only speeds up rebuilding this repo's own
   # crates after an edit, and it is gigabytes. Image builds only.
-  - name: drop the incremental cache (image builds only)
-    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || rm -rf target/debug/incremental'
+  - name: drop the incremental caches (image builds only)
+    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || rm -rf target/debug/incremental desktop/target/debug/incremental'
diff --git a/desktop/.ryph/environment.md b/desktop/.ryph/environment.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 640217f20..000000000
--- a/desktop/.ryph/environment.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-# radicle-desktop environment
-
-This repository's `.ryph/Dockerfile` is the machine for the whole Radicle
-workspace. On top of the universal image it adds:
-
-- Tauri's system libraries (`libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev`,
-  `libjavascriptcoregtk-4.1-dev`, `libayatana-appindicator3-dev`,
-  `librsvg2-dev`, `libxdo-dev`), so the Rust crates build here;
-- the OS libraries Playwright's Chromium and WebKit need, and `bzip2`;
-- `golangci-lint` v2.14.0 in `/usr/local/bin`, for garden-broker;
-- `MISE_IDIOMATIC_VERSION_FILE_ENABLE_TOOLS=node,python,deno,bun`, so mise
-  does not read a `go.mod` `go` line as a pin: Go is the image's own.
-- `CARGO_PROFILE_DEV_DEBUG=line-tables-only`: dev and test builds carry
-  line tables, not full debug info. Backtraces keep file and line. Do not
-  override it, or every crate rebuilds.
-
-`.ryph/setup.yml` installs the npm dependencies, Playwright's WebKit and the
-pinned Radicle binaries (`tests/tmp/bin`), and warms clippy, the test build
-and the e2e backend (`test-http-api`, `rad-job`) in `target/`. Node 24.15.0
-(`.nvmrc`) and Rust 1.97.1 (`rust-toolchain.toml`) are installed by mise and
-rustup on first use.
-
-## Checks (what CI runs)
-
-```sh
-npm run check-js        # svelte-check, eslint, prettier
-scripts/check-rs        # cargo fmt --check, clippy -Dwarnings, cargo test
-npm run test:unit
-npm run test:e2e        # WebKit; needs scripts/install-binaries, done by setup
-```
-
-`npm run check:ci` runs all of them in order and logs to
-`tests/tmp/check-ci.log`. The machine has 2 CPUs: the Rust test build and the
-e2e suite are the slow parts.
-
-## What does not work here
-
-- Chromium cannot be installed by Playwright: its download redirects to
-  `storage.googleapis.com`, which the egress allowlist refuses. This app's
-  e2e tests use WebKit only and are unaffected; radicle-explorer's and
-  always-on-node's Chromium e2e tests are.
-- There is no container runtime, so nothing that runs `docker` or `podman`
-  works (always-on-node's `pnpm test:e2e`, garden-broker's integration tests).
diff --git a/desktop/.ryph/setup.yml b/desktop/.ryph/setup.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 3bd3c8bf7..000000000
--- a/desktop/.ryph/setup.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-steps:
-  # An image layer keeps whole-second mtimes, but cargo fingerprints the
-  # nanoseconds it saw at build time. Rounding tracked files down to the
-  # second before building keeps the warm target/ fresh at run time. Never
-  # set them to the commit time: on an incremental image build that can make
-  # a changed file older than its stale build output.
-  - name: round source mtimes down to whole seconds (image builds only)
-    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || git ls-files -z | xargs -0 perl -e ''for (@ARGV) { next if -l; my $m = (lstat)[9]; utime $m, $m, $_ }'''
-  - name: install npm dependencies
-    run: npm install --prefer-offline
-  - name: install Playwright WebKit
-    run: npx playwright install webkit
-  - name: install the pinned Radicle binaries for e2e tests
-    run: scripts/install-binaries
-  # The cargo warm steps only fill the image's target/. At run time cargo
-  # builds what a command needs when it runs.
-  - name: warm clippy (scripts/check-rs, image builds only)
-    run: 'mkdir -p build && { [ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --locked; }'
-  - name: warm cargo test (scripts/check-rs, image builds only)
-    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || cargo test --workspace --no-run --locked'
-  - name: warm the e2e backend (tests/support/globalSetup.ts, image builds only)
-    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || { cargo build --manifest-path ./crates/test-http-api/Cargo.toml --locked && cargo build -p radicle-job --bin rad-job --locked; }'
-  # rustc's incremental cache only speeds up rebuilding this repo's own
-  # crates after an edit, and it is gigabytes. Image builds only.
-  - name: drop the incremental cache (image builds only)
-    run: '[ "$RYPH_SETUP_PHASE" != image ] || rm -rf target/debug/incremental'