[Due for payment 2026-01-16] [Due for payment 2026-01-15] [Due for payment 2025-12-30] Deprecate the Mac desktop app

[puneetlath]

Problem:
When we develop new features or fix bugs, if there is desktop-specific code required, we lose precious engineering time writing code that almost no user will ever use.

Solution:
Deprecate the desktop app so that the team can have more #focus on #migrate and other critical priorities. This would entail:

• - removing the in-product link
• - removing the desktop build from the deploy process
• - removing the testing requirement from the C+ checklist
• - removing the app from the Applause regression testing checklist
• - show desktop app as deprecated on app upgrade page (mock) (copy)
• - removing the desktop-related code from the codebase (we can revert this later if we ever decide to bring the app back)
• - update the minimum app version and remove the desktop-specific minimum app version block
• - emailing the small set of users that have downloaded the app to let them know it is deprecated and link them to the PWA app instead

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @RachCHopkins

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @RachCHopkins (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[roryabraham]

My plate is pretty open rn so I'm going to help shepherd this. I'm keen to review the deploy.yml changes, and also I built the original support for index.desktop.js files (albeit in like 2020...) so I'll have good context to unwind it.

[puneetlath]

Sounds great, thanks!

[roryabraham]

We also need to remove:

• @desktop import aliases
• desktop-specific stuff from the babel config
• desktop-specific stuff from the webpack config
• all index.desktop.ts files
• electron packages from package.json

[RachCHopkins]

Is this the new Expensify desktop app? 😭 I use it more than anything else. This BZ assignment feels personal.

[RachCHopkins]

Hey, who should be "starred" on this @roryabraham? I'm not sure of the sequence of events for one of these.

[hoangzinh]

@allroundexperts, do you have an ETA on PR ready for review?