Are there any native linux desktop apps in the works?

Try that if you want - make sure you use the rust core.
Here is whats planned for desktop clients:

  • A version using https://crates.io/crates/webview <- If it works it will likely be the successor of the electron app, because using the systems browser and not shipping nodejs saves drasticly on download size.
  • A desktop client with PyOt
  • I think about creating an Rust / GTK app using libhandy for use on gnu+linux phones like the upcomming purism librem 5, which would also work on desktop.

PS: Node.js is build on chromes javascript engine V8 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=v8+js