What I learned by putting GitHub Copilot behind a MitM proxy
An engineer explores the inner workings of AI-powered desktop applications like GitHub Copilot by using a man-in-the-middle proxy. The article explains how these Electron-based apps share a common architecture, allowing for easier reverse engineering.
Why it matters
Understanding the architecture of AI-integrated desktop software provides insights into how proprietary AI tools manage data and resources locally.
Hello, Rafael here - every week I cover interesting challenges and developments that I’ve come across recently through the lens of an engineer building AI systems.
There has been a flurry of AI-powered apps and AI features in the last couple of years. Incumbent players like Slack have swiftly added AI features to its roster . For AI-native ones like Cursor, Notion, ChatGPT Desktop and Claude Desktop, AI was always part of the raison d’être.
The more AI features these apps released, the more I became inclined to look at their inner workings. Hopefully I would be able to uncover a bit of what’s running under the hood; at the very least, I would learn one thing or two about desktop app development.
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