Tauri
Overview
Tauri is an open-source framework for building tiny, fast, secure desktop applications from web technologies. Instead of bundling a full Chromium browser and Node.js runtime the way Electron does, Tauri taps into your operating system’s own rendering engine (WebKitGTK on Linux, WKWebView on macOS, WebView2 on Windows) and pairs the web-based front-end with a backend core written in Rust.
The result is a compiled binary that is routinely tens of megabytes rather than hundreds, with a fraction of the memory footprint of a typical Electron app. Tauri 2.x is built around a modular plugin architecture so you enable only the permissions and subsystems your app actually needs, which also lowers the attack surface.
Key Features
- Tiny binaries: Ship apps in the tens of megabytes instead of hundreds, because no browser engine is bundled.
- System webview: Reuses the OS-native rendering engine on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Rust backend: A memory-safe core with strong performance, controllable permissions via capability files.
- Plugin architecture: Pull in only the plugins and permissions each app requires.
- Web front-end: Build the UI with your existing JavaScript, TypeScript, or any web framework.
- Dual licence: MIT OR Apache-2.0.
Use Cases
- Rewriting or migrating Electron apps to cut installer size and RAM usage.
- Building native-feeling desktop apps with a web front-end and a Rust core.
- Secure, low-footprint utilities for Windows, macOS, and Linux from one codebase.
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
Licence
MIT or Apache-2.0