SimurghForge

01 / Overview

Problem

File conversion typically requires uploading sensitive documents to cloud services, using multiple specialised tools, or installing bloated Electron apps. Users need a single, fast, privacy-respecting tool that handles all common formats locally.

Solution Overview

1. Built a three-tier engine architecture: native Rust (fastest), CLI tools (feature-rich), and Python (tabular data)
2. Implemented MIME-type detection via magic bytes for automatic engine selection
3. Designed batch orchestration with Tokio semaphore-based concurrency control
4. Shipped as a single .app bundle with quality presets (Low/Medium/High/Lossless)

02 / Evidence

Proof & Verification

• 49 formats supported across 5 categories (images, documents, audio, video, data)
• 9 conversion engines with automatic routing based on MIME detection
• Batch processing up to 50 files with configurable threading (1-8 threads)
• No network calls; all processing runs locally and offline

03 / Methods

Build

Tech Stack

• Tauri v2 (Rust 1.77+)
• React 18
• TypeScript
• Vite
• Tailwind CSS v4
• FFmpeg
• LibreOffice
• Pandoc
• Python Pandas
• ImageMagick

• 9 conversion engines: 4 native Rust + 5 CLI-bridged (FFmpeg, LibreOffice, Pandoc, Pandas, ImageMagick)
• 49 supported formats across images, documents, audio, video, and structured data
• Batch conversion up to 50 files with configurable concurrency (Tokio semaphore)
• MIME-type detection via magic bytes for automatic engine routing

Secure

• 100% local processing with no network calls or cloud dependency
• MIME-based magic byte detection prevents extension spoofing
• Path sanitisation for all file operations
• One .app bundle with no background services or daemons