diff --git a/desktop/src/main.ts b/desktop/src/main.ts
index 6f8881dd6..42c5ab732 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ import { createWatcher } from "./main/services/watch";
 import { userPreferences } from "./main/stores/user-preferences";
 import { migrateLegacyWatchStoreIfNeeded } from "./main/stores/watch";
 import { registerStreamProtocol } from "./main/stream";
-import { isDev } from "./main/utils/electron";
+import { isDev } from "./main/utils";
 
 /**
  * The URL where the renderer HTML is being served from.
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/log.ts b/desktop/src/main/log.ts
index d2421da62..c1902d8eb 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/log.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/log.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import log from "electron-log";
 import util from "node:util";
-import { isDev } from "./utils/electron";
+import { isDev } from "./utils";
 
 /**
  * Initialize logging in the main process.
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/menu.ts b/desktop/src/main/menu.ts
index 990dd40e5..0693c01dc 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/menu.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/menu.ts
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@ import {
 import { allowWindowClose } from "../main";
 import { forceCheckForAppUpdates } from "./services/app-update";
 import autoLauncher from "./services/auto-launcher";
+import { openLogDirectory } from "./services/dir";
 import { userPreferences } from "./stores/user-preferences";
-import { isDev, openLogDirectory } from "./utils/electron";
+import { isDev } from "./utils";
 
 /** Create and return the entries in the app's main menu bar */
 export const createApplicationMenu = async (mainWindow: BrowserWindow) => {
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/services/dir.ts b/desktop/src/main/services/dir.ts
index 4e2a8c65e..ef3adb013 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/services/dir.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/services/dir.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { shell } from "electron/common";
 import { app, dialog } from "electron/main";
 import path from "node:path";
-import { posixPath } from "../utils/electron";
+import { posixPath } from "../utils";
 
 export const selectDirectory = async () => {
     const result = await dialog.showOpenDialog({
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/services/ffmpeg.ts b/desktop/src/main/services/ffmpeg.ts
index 78b7a9e9a..dc417c595 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/services/ffmpeg.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/services/ffmpeg.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ import pathToFfmpeg from "ffmpeg-static";
 import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import type { ZipItem } from "../../types/ipc";
 import log from "../log";
-import { withTimeout } from "../utils";
-import { execAsync } from "../utils/electron";
+import { execAsync } from "../utils";
+import { withTimeout } from "../utils/common";
 import {
     deleteTempFile,
     makeFileForDataOrPathOrZipItem,
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/services/image.ts b/desktop/src/main/services/image.ts
index 957fe8120..d607b0ead 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/services/image.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/services/image.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { CustomErrorMessage, type ZipItem } from "../../types/ipc";
 import log from "../log";
-import { execAsync, isDev } from "../utils/electron";
+import { execAsync, isDev } from "../utils";
 import {
     deleteTempFile,
     makeFileForDataOrPathOrZipItem,
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/services/ml-clip.ts b/desktop/src/main/services/ml-clip.ts
index 99e512aa6..67c6d2db7 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/services/ml-clip.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/services/ml-clip.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ const cachedCLIPImageSession = makeCachedInferenceSession(
 export const clipImageEmbedding = async (jpegImageData: Uint8Array) => {
     const tempFilePath = await makeTempFilePath();
     const imageStream = new Response(jpegImageData.buffer).body;
+    if (!imageStream) throw new Error("Missing body that we just fed data to");
     await writeStream(tempFilePath, imageStream);
     try {
         return await clipImageEmbedding_(tempFilePath);
@@ -134,11 +135,9 @@ const cachedCLIPTextSession = makeCachedInferenceSession(
     64173509 /* 61.2 MB */,
 );
 
-let _tokenizer: Tokenizer = null;
+let _tokenizer: Tokenizer | undefined;
 const getTokenizer = () => {
-    if (!_tokenizer) {
-        _tokenizer = new Tokenizer();
-    }
+    if (!_tokenizer) _tokenizer = new Tokenizer();
     return _tokenizer;
 };
 
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/services/watch.ts b/desktop/src/main/services/watch.ts
index 588279b70..4d7b89e46 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/services/watch.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/services/watch.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import path from "node:path";
 import { FolderWatch, type CollectionMapping } from "../../types/ipc";
 import log from "../log";
 import { watchStore } from "../stores/watch";
-import { posixPath } from "../utils/electron";
+import { posixPath } from "../utils";
 import { fsIsDir } from "./fs";
 
 /**
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/stream.ts b/desktop/src/main/stream.ts
index b37970cfa..be84c022f 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/stream.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/stream.ts
@@ -99,7 +99,10 @@ const handleReadZip = async (zipPath: string, entryName: string) => {
     try {
         const zip = new StreamZip.async({ file: zipPath });
         const entry = await zip.entry(entryName);
+        if (!entry) return new Response("", { status: 404 });
+
         const stream = await zip.stream(entry);
+
         // TODO(MR): when to call zip.close()
 
         return new Response(Readable.toWeb(new Readable(stream)), {
@@ -122,7 +125,7 @@ const handleReadZip = async (zipPath: string, entryName: string) => {
             `Failed to read entry ${entryName} from zip file at ${zipPath}`,
             e,
         );
-        return new Response(`Failed to read stream: ${e.message}`, {
+        return new Response(`Failed to read stream: ${String(e)}`, {
             status: 500,
         });
     }
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/utils/common.ts b/desktop/src/main/utils/common.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..100a8ad2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/main/utils/common.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/**
+ * @file grab bag of utility functions.
+ *
+ * These are verbatim copies of functions from web code since there isn't
+ * currently a common package that both of them share.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Wait for {@link ms} milliseconds
+ *
+ * This function is a promisified `setTimeout`. It returns a promise that
+ * resolves after {@link ms} milliseconds.
+ */
+export const wait = (ms: number) =>
+    new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+
+/**
+ * Await the given {@link promise} for {@link timeoutMS} milliseconds. If it
+ * does not resolve within {@link timeoutMS}, then reject with a timeout error.
+ */
+export const withTimeout = async <T>(promise: Promise<T>, ms: number) => {
+    let timeoutId: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>;
+    const rejectOnTimeout = new Promise<T>((_, reject) => {
+        timeoutId = setTimeout(
+            () => reject(new Error("Operation timed out")),
+            ms,
+        );
+    });
+    const promiseAndCancelTimeout = async () => {
+        const result = await promise;
+        clearTimeout(timeoutId);
+        return result;
+    };
+    return Promise.race([promiseAndCancelTimeout(), rejectOnTimeout]);
+};
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/utils/electron.ts b/desktop/src/main/utils/electron.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index d627ec5c4..000000000
--- a/desktop/src/main/utils/electron.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-import shellescape from "any-shell-escape";
-import { app } from "electron/main";
-import { exec } from "node:child_process";
-import path from "node:path";
-import { promisify } from "node:util";
-import log from "../log";
-
-/** `true` if the app is running in development mode. */
-export const isDev = !app.isPackaged;
-
-/**
- * Convert a file system {@link filePath} that uses the local system specific
- * path separators into a path that uses POSIX file separators.
- */
-export const posixPath = (filePath: string) =>
-    filePath.split(path.sep).join(path.posix.sep);
-
-/**
- * Run a shell command asynchronously.
- *
- * This is a convenience promisified version of child_process.exec. It runs the
- * command asynchronously and returns its stdout and stderr if there were no
- * errors.
- *
- * If the command is passed as a string, then it will be executed verbatim.
- *
- * If the command is passed as an array, then the first argument will be treated
- * as the executable and the remaining (optional) items as the command line
- * parameters. This function will shellescape and join the array to form the
- * command that finally gets executed.
- *
- * > Note: This is not a 1-1 replacement of child_process.exec - if you're
- * > trying to run a trivial shell command, say something that produces a lot of
- * > output, this might not be the best option and it might be better to use the
- * > underlying functions.
- */
-export const execAsync = (command: string | string[]) => {
-    const escapedCommand = Array.isArray(command)
-        ? shellescape(command)
-        : command;
-    const startTime = Date.now();
-    const result = execAsync_(escapedCommand);
-    log.debug(
-        () => `${escapedCommand} (${Math.round(Date.now() - startTime)} ms)`,
-    );
-    return result;
-};
-
-const execAsync_ = promisify(exec);
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/utils/index.ts b/desktop/src/main/utils/index.ts
index 1ae35d55d..d627ec5c4 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/utils/index.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main/utils/index.ts
@@ -1,35 +1,49 @@
-/**
- * @file grab bag of utility functions.
- *
- * Many of these are verbatim copies of functions from web code since there
- * isn't currently a common package that both of them share.
- */
+import shellescape from "any-shell-escape";
+import { app } from "electron/main";
+import { exec } from "node:child_process";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { promisify } from "node:util";
+import log from "../log";
+
+/** `true` if the app is running in development mode. */
+export const isDev = !app.isPackaged;
 
 /**
- * Wait for {@link ms} milliseconds
- *
- * This function is a promisified `setTimeout`. It returns a promise that
- * resolves after {@link ms} milliseconds.
+ * Convert a file system {@link filePath} that uses the local system specific
+ * path separators into a path that uses POSIX file separators.
  */
-export const wait = (ms: number) =>
-    new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+export const posixPath = (filePath: string) =>
+    filePath.split(path.sep).join(path.posix.sep);
 
 /**
- * Await the given {@link promise} for {@link timeoutMS} milliseconds. If it
- * does not resolve within {@link timeoutMS}, then reject with a timeout error.
+ * Run a shell command asynchronously.
+ *
+ * This is a convenience promisified version of child_process.exec. It runs the
+ * command asynchronously and returns its stdout and stderr if there were no
+ * errors.
+ *
+ * If the command is passed as a string, then it will be executed verbatim.
+ *
+ * If the command is passed as an array, then the first argument will be treated
+ * as the executable and the remaining (optional) items as the command line
+ * parameters. This function will shellescape and join the array to form the
+ * command that finally gets executed.
+ *
+ * > Note: This is not a 1-1 replacement of child_process.exec - if you're
+ * > trying to run a trivial shell command, say something that produces a lot of
+ * > output, this might not be the best option and it might be better to use the
+ * > underlying functions.
  */
-export const withTimeout = async <T>(promise: Promise<T>, ms: number) => {
-    let timeoutId: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>;
-    const rejectOnTimeout = new Promise<T>((_, reject) => {
-        timeoutId = setTimeout(
-            () => reject(new Error("Operation timed out")),
-            ms,
-        );
-    });
-    const promiseAndCancelTimeout = async () => {
-        const result = await promise;
-        clearTimeout(timeoutId);
-        return result;
-    };
-    return Promise.race([promiseAndCancelTimeout(), rejectOnTimeout]);
+export const execAsync = (command: string | string[]) => {
+    const escapedCommand = Array.isArray(command)
+        ? shellescape(command)
+        : command;
+    const startTime = Date.now();
+    const result = execAsync_(escapedCommand);
+    log.debug(
+        () => `${escapedCommand} (${Math.round(Date.now() - startTime)} ms)`,
+    );
+    return result;
 };
+
+const execAsync_ = promisify(exec);
diff --git a/desktop/tsconfig.json b/desktop/tsconfig.json
index 700ea3fa0..16946bf3f 100644
--- a/desktop/tsconfig.json
+++ b/desktop/tsconfig.json
@@ -50,12 +50,12 @@
         "outDir": "app",
 
         /* Temporary overrides to get things to compile with the older config */
-        "strict": false,
-        "noImplicitAny": true
+        // "strict": false,
+        "noImplicitAny": true,
 
         /* Below is the state we want */
         /* Enable these one by one */
-        // "strict": true,
+        "strict": true,
 
         /* Require the `type` modifier when importing types */
         // "verbatimModuleSyntax": true