diff --git a/src/main/index.ts b/src/main/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0805749
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+import {app, BrowserWindow, dialog, ipcMain} from 'electron';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import {IPC_CHANNELS} from '@shared/ipc';
+import type {AssetKind, StartExportInput} from '@shared/ipc';
+import {createSecureWindow, applySecurityPolicy} from './security';
+import {createProject, importAssetFile, openProject, saveProject} from './project-service';
+
+const isDev = Boolean(process.env.VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL);
+
+const selectFile = async (filters: Electron.FileFilter[]) => {
+  const result = await dialog.showOpenDialog({
+    properties: ['openFile'],
+    filters,
+  });
+  return {canceled: result.canceled, filePath: result.filePaths[0]};
+};
+
+const registerIpc = (): void => {
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.selectProjectDirectory, async () => {
+    const result = await dialog.showOpenDialog({properties: ['openDirectory', 'createDirectory']});
+    return {canceled: result.canceled, filePath: result.filePaths[0]};
+  });
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.selectBackgroundImage, () =>
+    selectFile([{name: 'Images', extensions: ['png', 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'webp']}]),
+  );
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.selectAudioFile, () =>
+    selectFile([{name: 'Audio', extensions: ['mp3', 'wav', 'm4a', 'aac', 'flac', 'ogg']}]),
+  );
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.selectProjectFile, () =>
+    selectFile([{name: 'MV Visualizer Project', extensions: ['json']}]),
+  );
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.createProject, (_event, input) => createProject(input));
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.openProject, (_event, filePath: string) => openProject(filePath));
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.saveProject, (_event, state) => saveProject(state));
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.importAsset, (_event, projectDir: string, sourcePath: string, kind: AssetKind) =>
+    importAssetFile(projectDir, sourcePath, kind),
+  );
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.startExport, async (_event, _input: StartExportInput) => ({
+    active: false,
+    progress: 0,
+    message: 'Export service is not wired yet.',
+  }));
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.cancelExport, async () => ({active: false, progress: 0, message: 'No export active.'}));
+  ipcMain.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.getExportStatus, async () => ({active: false, progress: 0, message: 'Idle'}));
+};
+
+const createWindow = async (): Promise<void> => {
+  const preloadPath = path.join(app.getAppPath(), 'dist-electron/preload/index.cjs');
+  const mainWindow = createSecureWindow(preloadPath);
+
+  if (isDev && process.env.VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL) {
+    await mainWindow.loadURL(process.env.VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL);
+    mainWindow.webContents.openDevTools({mode: 'detach'});
+  } else {
+    await mainWindow.loadFile(path.join(app.getAppPath(), 'dist/index.html'));
+  }
+};
+
+applySecurityPolicy();
+app.whenReady().then(() => {
+  registerIpc();
+  void createWindow();
+});
+
+app.on('activate', () => {
+  if (BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().length === 0) {
+    void createWindow();
+  }
+});
+
+app.on('window-all-closed', () => {
+  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+    app.quit();
+  }
+});
+
diff --git a/src/main/project-service.ts b/src/main/project-service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a2a634
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/project-service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+import {randomUUID} from 'node:crypto';
+import {mkdir, copyFile, readFile, writeFile} from 'node:fs/promises';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import {ASSET_DIR, PROJECT_FILE_NAME, createDefaultConfig, projectConfigSchema} from '@shared/project';
+import type {AssetKind} from '@shared/ipc';
+import type {NewProjectInput, ProjectConfig, ProjectState} from '@shared/project';
+import {normalizeRelativePath, sanitizeFileName} from '@shared/files';
+
+const assetName = (sourcePath: string, kind: AssetKind): string => {
+  const extension = path.extname(sourcePath);
+  const stem = kind === 'audio' ? 'audio' : 'background';
+  return `${stem}${extension.toLowerCase()}`;
+};
+
+const ensureProjectDirs = async (projectDir: string): Promise<void> => {
+  await mkdir(path.join(projectDir, ASSET_DIR), {recursive: true});
+  await mkdir(path.join(projectDir, 'exports'), {recursive: true});
+};
+
+export const projectFilePath = (projectDir: string): string => path.join(projectDir, PROJECT_FILE_NAME);
+
+export const importAssetFile = async (projectDir: string, sourcePath: string, kind: AssetKind): Promise<string> => {
+  await ensureProjectDirs(projectDir);
+  const fileName = assetName(sourcePath, kind);
+  const target = path.join(projectDir, ASSET_DIR, fileName);
+  await copyFile(sourcePath, target);
+  return normalizeRelativePath(path.relative(projectDir, target));
+};
+
+export const createProject = async (input: NewProjectInput): Promise<ProjectState> => {
+  await ensureProjectDirs(input.projectDir);
+  const backgroundImagePath = await importAssetFile(input.projectDir, input.backgroundImagePath, 'background');
+  const audioPath = await importAssetFile(input.projectDir, input.audioPath, 'audio');
+  const config = createDefaultConfig({
+    id: randomUUID(),
+    locale: input.locale,
+    formatId: input.formatId,
+    backgroundImagePath,
+    audioPath,
+    artistName: input.artistName,
+    songName: input.songName,
+  });
+  config.export.outputFileName = sanitizeFileName(config.export.outputFileName);
+  return saveProject({projectDir: input.projectDir, config});
+};
+
+export const openProject = async (filePath: string): Promise<ProjectState> => {
+  const raw = await readFile(filePath, 'utf8');
+  const config = projectConfigSchema.parse(JSON.parse(raw));
+  return {
+    projectDir: path.dirname(filePath),
+    config,
+  };
+};
+
+export const saveProject = async (state: ProjectState): Promise<ProjectState> => {
+  await ensureProjectDirs(state.projectDir);
+  const config: ProjectConfig = projectConfigSchema.parse({
+    ...state.config,
+    export: {
+      ...state.config.export,
+      outputFileName: sanitizeFileName(state.config.export.outputFileName),
+    },
+  });
+  await writeFile(projectFilePath(state.projectDir), `${JSON.stringify(config, null, 2)}\n`, 'utf8');
+  return {projectDir: state.projectDir, config};
+};
+
diff --git a/src/main/security.ts b/src/main/security.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7692fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/security.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import {app, BrowserWindow, shell} from 'electron';
+
+export const applySecurityPolicy = (): void => {
+  app.on('web-contents-created', (_event, contents) => {
+    contents.setWindowOpenHandler(({url}) => {
+      if (url.startsWith('https://')) {
+        void shell.openExternal(url);
+      }
+      return {action: 'deny'};
+    });
+
+    contents.on('will-navigate', (event, url) => {
+      const currentUrl = contents.getURL();
+      if (url !== currentUrl) {
+        event.preventDefault();
+      }
+    });
+  });
+};
+
+export const createSecureWindow = (preloadPath: string): BrowserWindow =>
+  new BrowserWindow({
+    width: 1280,
+    height: 860,
+    minWidth: 1040,
+    minHeight: 720,
+    title: 'MV Visualizer',
+    backgroundColor: '#0c0f14',
+    webPreferences: {
+      preload: preloadPath,
+      nodeIntegration: false,
+      contextIsolation: true,
+      sandbox: true,
+      webSecurity: true,
+    },
+  });
+
diff --git a/src/preload/index.ts b/src/preload/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ae7d47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/preload/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import {contextBridge, ipcRenderer} from 'electron';
+import type {AssetKind, MvApi, StartExportInput} from '@shared/ipc';
+import {IPC_CHANNELS} from '@shared/ipc';
+import type {NewProjectInput, ProjectState} from '@shared/project';
+
+const api: MvApi = {
+  selectProjectDirectory: () => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.selectProjectDirectory),
+  selectBackgroundImage: () => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.selectBackgroundImage),
+  selectAudioFile: () => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.selectAudioFile),
+  selectProjectFile: () => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.selectProjectFile),
+  createProject: (input: NewProjectInput) => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.createProject, input),
+  openProject: (filePath: string) => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.openProject, filePath),
+  saveProject: (state: ProjectState) => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.saveProject, state),
+  importAsset: (projectDir: string, sourcePath: string, kind: AssetKind) =>
+    ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.importAsset, projectDir, sourcePath, kind),
+  startExport: (input: StartExportInput) => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.startExport, input),
+  cancelExport: () => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.cancelExport),
+  getExportStatus: () => ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.getExportStatus),
+};
+
+contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('mvApi', api);
+
diff --git a/src/renderer/vite-env.d.ts b/src/renderer/vite-env.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..868905a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
+
+import type {MvApi} from '@shared/ipc';
+
+declare global {
+  interface Window {
+    mvApi: MvApi;
+  }
+}
+
diff --git a/src/shared/env.ts b/src/shared/env.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a4962a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/env.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+export const isDev = (): boolean => process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' || Boolean(process.env.VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL);
+
diff --git a/src/shared/files.ts b/src/shared/files.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4959861
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/files.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+const RESERVED_WINDOWS_NAMES = /^(con|prn|aux|nul|com[1-9]|lpt[1-9])$/i;
+
+export const sanitizeFileName = (fileName: string): string => {
+  const trimmed = fileName.trim();
+  const withoutControlChars = trimmed.replace(/[\u0000-\u001f\u0080-\u009f]/g, '');
+  const safe = withoutControlChars
+    .replace(/[<>:"/\\|?*]+/g, '-')
+    .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')
+    .replace(/\.+$/g, '')
+    .trim();
+
+  if (!safe || RESERVED_WINDOWS_NAMES.test(safe)) {
+    return 'mv-visualizer-export.mp4';
+  }
+
+  return safe.endsWith('.mp4') ? safe : `${safe}.mp4`;
+};
+
+export const normalizeRelativePath = (value: string): string => value.replaceAll('\\', '/');
+
diff --git a/src/shared/formats.ts b/src/shared/formats.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa8695a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/formats.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import {z} from 'zod';
+
+export const videoFormatSchema = z.object({
+  id: z.enum(['16:9', '9:16', '1:1', '4:5']),
+  label: z.string(),
+  width: z.number().int().positive(),
+  height: z.number().int().positive(),
+  fps: z.number().int().positive().default(30),
+});
+
+export type VideoFormat = z.infer<typeof videoFormatSchema>;
+
+export const VIDEO_FORMATS: VideoFormat[] = [
+  {id: '16:9', label: '16:9 Full HD', width: 1920, height: 1080, fps: 30},
+  {id: '9:16', label: '9:16 Vertical', width: 1080, height: 1920, fps: 30},
+  {id: '1:1', label: '1:1 Square', width: 1080, height: 1080, fps: 30},
+  {id: '4:5', label: '4:5 Portrait', width: 1080, height: 1350, fps: 30},
+];
+
+export const getVideoFormat = (id: VideoFormat['id']): VideoFormat =>
+  VIDEO_FORMATS.find((format) => format.id === id) ?? VIDEO_FORMATS[0];
+
diff --git a/src/shared/ipc.ts b/src/shared/ipc.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2c3c1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/ipc.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import type {ProjectConfig, ProjectState, NewProjectInput} from './project';
+
+export type AssetKind = 'background' | 'audio';
+
+export type DialogFileResult = {
+  canceled: boolean;
+  filePath?: string;
+};
+
+export type ExportStatus = {
+  active: boolean;
+  progress: number;
+  message: string;
+  outputPath?: string;
+  error?: string;
+};
+
+export type StartExportInput = {
+  projectDir: string;
+  config: ProjectConfig;
+};
+
+export type MvApi = {
+  selectProjectDirectory: () => Promise<DialogFileResult>;
+  selectBackgroundImage: () => Promise<DialogFileResult>;
+  selectAudioFile: () => Promise<DialogFileResult>;
+  selectProjectFile: () => Promise<DialogFileResult>;
+  createProject: (input: NewProjectInput) => Promise<ProjectState>;
+  openProject: (filePath: string) => Promise<ProjectState>;
+  saveProject: (state: ProjectState) => Promise<ProjectState>;
+  importAsset: (projectDir: string, sourcePath: string, kind: AssetKind) => Promise<string>;
+  startExport: (input: StartExportInput) => Promise<ExportStatus>;
+  cancelExport: () => Promise<ExportStatus>;
+  getExportStatus: () => Promise<ExportStatus>;
+};
+
+export const IPC_CHANNELS = {
+  selectProjectDirectory: 'dialog:select-project-directory',
+  selectBackgroundImage: 'dialog:select-background-image',
+  selectAudioFile: 'dialog:select-audio-file',
+  selectProjectFile: 'dialog:select-project-file',
+  createProject: 'project:create',
+  openProject: 'project:open',
+  saveProject: 'project:save',
+  importAsset: 'project:import-asset',
+  startExport: 'export:start',
+  cancelExport: 'export:cancel',
+  getExportStatus: 'export:status',
+} as const;
+
diff --git a/src/shared/project.ts b/src/shared/project.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75695d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/project.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+import {z} from 'zod';
+import {getVideoFormat, videoFormatSchema} from './formats';
+
+export const PROJECT_FILE_NAME = '.mvproj.json';
+export const ASSET_DIR = 'assets';
+export const EXPORT_DIR = 'exports';
+export const PROJECT_VERSION = 1;
+
+export const visualizerTypeSchema = z.enum(['bars', 'wave', 'ring', 'clean', 'neon', 'glitch']);
+export type VisualizerType = z.infer<typeof visualizerTypeSchema>;
+
+export const localeSchema = z.enum(['de', 'en']);
+export type AppLocale = z.infer<typeof localeSchema>;
+
+export const projectConfigSchema = z.object({
+  id: z.string().min(1),
+  version: z.literal(PROJECT_VERSION),
+  locale: localeSchema.default('de'),
+  format: videoFormatSchema,
+  assets: z.object({
+    backgroundImagePath: z.string().min(1),
+    audioPath: z.string().min(1),
+  }),
+  metadata: z.object({
+    artistName: z.string().min(1).max(120),
+    songName: z.string().min(1).max(160),
+  }),
+  visualizer: z.object({
+    type: visualizerTypeSchema.default('bars'),
+    intensity: z.number().min(0.1).max(2).default(1),
+    smoothing: z.number().min(0).max(0.95).default(0.78),
+  }),
+  style: z.object({
+    primaryColor: z.string().default('#f8fafc'),
+    accentColor: z.string().default('#2dd4bf'),
+    backgroundBlur: z.number().min(0).max(30).default(8),
+    overlayOpacity: z.number().min(0).max(0.85).default(0.36),
+    fontFamily: z.string().default('Inter, system-ui, sans-serif'),
+    textPosition: z.enum(['top-left', 'top-center', 'center', 'bottom-left', 'bottom-center']).default('bottom-left'),
+    visualizerPosition: z.enum(['bottom', 'center', 'top']).default('bottom'),
+    visualizerSize: z.number().min(0.2).max(1).default(0.48),
+  }),
+  export: z.object({
+    codec: z.literal('h264').default('h264'),
+    outputFileName: z.string().min(1),
+  }),
+});
+
+export type ProjectConfig = z.infer<typeof projectConfigSchema>;
+
+export type ProjectState = {
+  projectDir: string;
+  config: ProjectConfig;
+};
+
+export type NewProjectInput = {
+  projectDir: string;
+  locale: AppLocale;
+  formatId: ProjectConfig['format']['id'];
+  backgroundImagePath: string;
+  audioPath: string;
+  artistName: string;
+  songName: string;
+};
+
+export const createDefaultConfig = (input: {
+  id: string;
+  locale?: AppLocale;
+  formatId?: ProjectConfig['format']['id'];
+  backgroundImagePath: string;
+  audioPath: string;
+  artistName: string;
+  songName: string;
+}): ProjectConfig => {
+  const artistName = input.artistName.trim();
+  const songName = input.songName.trim();
+
+  return projectConfigSchema.parse({
+    id: input.id,
+    version: PROJECT_VERSION,
+    locale: input.locale ?? 'de',
+    format: getVideoFormat(input.formatId ?? '16:9'),
+    assets: {
+      backgroundImagePath: input.backgroundImagePath,
+      audioPath: input.audioPath,
+    },
+    metadata: {artistName, songName},
+    visualizer: {type: 'bars', intensity: 1, smoothing: 0.78},
+    style: {
+      primaryColor: '#f8fafc',
+      accentColor: '#2dd4bf',
+      backgroundBlur: 8,
+      overlayOpacity: 0.36,
+      fontFamily: 'Inter, system-ui, sans-serif',
+      textPosition: 'bottom-left',
+      visualizerPosition: 'bottom',
+      visualizerSize: 0.48,
+    },
+    export: {
+      codec: 'h264',
+      outputFileName: `${artistName} - ${songName}.mp4`,
+    },
+  });
+};
+