How come people run these Electron apps separately when they run pretty well as tabs/windows in the browser?

Because a long time ago Microsoft lost a lawsuit when they tried making the web and Windows more integrated

Because integration into the desktop is better as an Electron app. Eg sound and video calls, keyboard shortcuts, not having to worry about finding your Discord/Slack/whatever tab

I would't say Electron is better desktop integration.

Discord for example is literally just a chrome-less Chrome; the zoom in/out hotkeys in Chrome still work in it.

This is also not mentioning how no Electron program ever visually adheres to the desktop environment it's running in.

> Discord for example is literally just a chrome-less Chrome; the zoom in/out hotkeys in Chrome still work in it.

No, it also includes:

* Voice (and text chat) overlay for games (DLL)

* Game integration via lobby & rich presence APIs

* Krisp noise cancellation (requires a DLL as well)

* (Better) screenshare (Chrome has an API for window sharing now but Discord's is a bit more robust with several backends in case one fails)

* System-wide keybinds

* Scripting support via gaming accessory apps (Logitech G HUB, HyperX, etc.)

It also (anecdotally) works faster than the web client, in my experience.

Just because the zoom controls work (which is an accessibility feature) doesn't mean it's a barebones Chrome wrapper.

Electron apps can use desktop capabilities. Web apps are at the mercy of the few desktop-bridging APIs that browsers inconsistently expose. They’re not talking about UI/UX “integration”.

Discord for instance has this “currently playing game X” feature. I have zero interest in broadcasting what I’m doing at the moment to the world, but many do and have this feature enabled. Good luck implementing that in a browser-confined web app.

Electron can call native OS APIs the browser can't.

An example: https://stackoverflow.com/a/39569062

I think it's because the apps have additional functionality and because the services push users to use the apps on their websites. Some of the additional functionality is artificially limited to apps as companies can put more tracking, advertising, and can ensure that people won't leave their service easily by just closing a tab.

I guess I'm one of the few who doesn't. Discord, Slack, Spotify, etc -- they're all just bookmarks for me.

Because browser's haven't built enough compatibility with the desktop to use it like a regular app, therefore severely limiting---sometimes intentionally---what you can and can't access on the file system. It is expected sometime in the near future that browsers will have enough sandbox protection that they will then enable app developers to do the same things that only Electron allows but without the excessive bloat you get from Electron versions.