title: Is there an Open Source framework for building desktop apps that run in the browser?
body: <p>I'm interested in starting an Open Source project that could be packaged as a desktop application for non-technical end users, but would run in the browser - one existing model would be <a href="http://code.google.com/p/google-refine/" rel="nofollow">Google Refine</a>. I'm looking for an <strong>existing, Open-Source framework</strong> that would support this - <em>not</em> the UI portion, but the lower-level application framework, including:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Data persistence (preferably via some sort of ORM)</li>
  <li>Desktop-based webserver (I'm assuming this would be necessary to support a browser-based UI)</li>
  <li>Filesystem access</li>
  <li>Security/sandboxing (e.g. to address the XSS/CSRF issues of running your own webserver)</li>
  <li>Support for basic web app elements (e.g. URL handling, templating) or for another web app framework that could handle this</li>
  <li>Packaging the project for one-click installation (i.e. the user should not need to have Python, node, or other technologies installed)</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>I'm hoping to find a framework that sets up a significant amount of this for me, the way that Django sets up web applications - not just a technology that would support writing this framework myself.</p>
  
  <p>My ideal framework would be <strong>cross-platform</strong> and <strong>cross-browser</strong>, and would be written in either Python, Java, or Javascript (running on node.js or something similar). Does a framework like this exist?</p>