Tauri

Tauri uses the OS’s built-in WebView (WebKit on macOS/Linux, WebView2 on Windows) instead of bundling Chromium, resulting in app sizes under 10MB vs. Electron’s 100MB+. The Rust backend handles system integration securely with an explicit permission model. Tauri 2 added mobile support for iOS and Android from the same codebase, making it the most versatile cross-platform framework for web developers.

Quick start

# Prerequisites: Rust, Node.js
npm create tauri-app@latest my-app
# Select: frontend framework (React/Vue/Svelte/etc)
cd my-app && npm install
npm run tauri dev

// src-tauri/src/main.rs
use tauri::Manager;

#[tauri::command]
fn read_file(path: String) -> Result<String, String> {
    std::fs::read_to_string(&path)
        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
}

#[tauri::command]
fn greet(name: &str) -> String {
    format!("Hello, {}!", name)
}

fn main() {
    tauri::Builder::default()
        .invoke_handler(tauri::generate_handler![greet, read_file])
        .run(tauri::generate_context!())
        .expect("error while running tauri application");
}

// Frontend — call Rust functions from JavaScript
import { invoke } from '@tauri-apps/api/core'

const greeting = await invoke<string>('greet', { name: 'World' })
console.log(greeting)  // "Hello, World!"

const contents = await invoke<string>('read_file', { path: '/etc/hosts' })

When to use

Tauri is the right choice when you want a desktop app with a web frontend but can’t accept Electron’s bundle size or memory overhead. Its Rust backend provides better security and performance for system-level operations. For teams that don’t know Rust but need simple OS integration, Electron’s JavaScript backend is simpler. Tauri 2’s mobile support makes it the most complete web-based cross-platform solution for developers who can write Rust. If you’re already building with React, Vue, or Svelte, Tauri slots in without changing your frontend stack.