Tauri
Overview
Tauri is a framework for building desktop and mobile applications using web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript) for the UI and Rust for the backend logic. It produces small, fast binaries by leveraging the OS webview instead of bundling a browser engine. The IPC layer connects the frontend to Rust commands through a capability-based permission system.
When to use: Cross-platform desktop/mobile apps with web UIs, system-level integrations (tray, notifications, file system), apps requiring small bundle sizes, security-sensitive applications needing fine-grained permission control.
When NOT to use: Pure web apps with no native requirements, Electron apps that depend heavily on Node.js APIs with no Rust migration path, projects where the team has no capacity to maintain Rust code.
Quick Reference
| Pattern | API / Config | Key Points |
|---|---|---|
| Create project | cargo create-tauri-app or pnpm create tauri-app | Scaffolds Rust backend + frontend framework |
| Define command | #[tauri::command] fn name() {} | Must register in generate_handler! |
| Invoke from frontend | invoke('cmd_name', { arg: value }) | Returns Promise, args as camelCase JSON |
| Emit event (frontend) | emit('event-name', payload) | Global event, all listeners receive |
| Listen event | listen('event-name', handler) | Returns unlisten function |
| Manage state | app.manage(MyState {}) + State<'_, MyState> | No Arc needed, Mutex for mutability |
| Window creation | WebviewWindowBuilder::new(app, label, url) | Label must be unique per window |
| System tray | TrayIconBuilder::new().menu(&menu).build(app) | Requires tray-icon Cargo feature |
| Add plugin (Rust) | .plugin(tauri_plugin_name::init()) | Register in Builder chain |
| Add plugin (frontend) | @tauri-apps/plugin-name | NPM package per plugin |
| Define capability | src-tauri/capabilities/*.json | Scoped to windows, merged at build |
| Grant permission | "permissions": ["plugin:scope"] | Commands inaccessible without explicit grant |
| Sidecar binary | tauri.conf.json bundle.externalBin | Name must match {name}-{target_triple} |
| Custom protocol | tauri::Builder::default().register_uri_scheme_protocol | Intercept custom scheme:// URLs |
| Auto-updater | tauri-plugin-updater + JSON endpoint | Requires code signing |
| App bundle/sign | cargo tauri build | Platform-specific signing via env vars |
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Correct Pattern |
|---|---|
Multiple generate_handler! calls | Pass all commands to a single generate_handler! invocation |
Using &str in async command args | Use owned String types in async commands |
| Forgetting to add capability for plugin | Add permission identifier in src-tauri/capabilities/*.json |
Wrapping state in Arc | Tauri State handles reference counting internally |
Using std::sync::Mutex across .await points | Use tokio::sync::Mutex for async commands holding locks across awaits |
| Wrong sidecar binary name | Binary must be named {name}-{target_triple} (e.g., mybin-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc) |
| Assuming all windows share capabilities | Each window/webview gets capabilities scoped by label |
Using SystemTray (v1 API) | Use TrayIconBuilder from tauri::tray module in v2 |
| Not signing app before enabling updater | Auto-updater requires valid code signing on all platforms |
| Using window title for security decisions | Capabilities use window labels, not titles |
Delegation
- Command pattern discovery: Use
Exploreagent - Security review: Use
Taskagent - Code review: Delegate to
code-revieweragent
If the
rustskill is available, delegate Rust language patterns, error handling, and async/concurrency to it. If thereact-patternsskill is available, delegate React frontend patterns to it. If thesvelteskill is available, delegate Svelte frontend patterns to it. If theviteskill is available, delegate build tooling and dev server configuration to it. If thegithub-actionsskill is available, delegate CI/CD pipeline and release workflow configuration to it.
References
- Project setup, configuration, and directory structure
- IPC commands, events, and channels
- State management patterns
- Window management and multi-window apps
- System tray and menus
- Plugin system and official plugins
- Security model, capabilities, and permissions
- Sidecar binaries and custom protocols
- App signing, distribution, and auto-updates