Deep Linking (Custom Protocol)

Deep linking on desktop means registering a custom URL protocol (like myapp://checkout/123) so that links anywhere on the system, in a browser, an email, another app, launch your application and hand it the URL. It's the desktop equivalent of mobile app links.

The two workhorse uses are authentication and navigation: OAuth flows that bounce through a browser and return the user to the app with a token, and "open this record in the app" links from emails or web pages. If the app is already running, the link is delivered to the running instance; if not, the OS starts it with the URL as launch context.

Registration is per-platform (the Info.plist on macOS, the registry on Windows, .desktop files on Linux), and the messy part is the edge cases: second instances, cold starts, and links arriving before the app window exists.

Deskifier apps get a custom protocol out of the box (you choose the scheme), with the per-platform registration and the running/cold-start delivery handled, exposed to your web app through the SDK.