Tauri
Framework for building desktop and mobile apps with a Rust backend and web frontend.
Liked as a lighter Electron alternative123 that pairs a Rust backend with a web UI456, producing small bundles and low memory use.789 The most common complaint is that relying on the OS webview causes compatibility issues101112, especially on Linux.13141516
Why people recommend it
Small footprint · 3
Commenters report bundles of a few MB and much lower RAM use than Electron.
“Electron to Tauri 130mb to 3mb”
“Tauri v2 over Electron: ~3MB bundle vs ~85MB, ~30MB RAM vs 200MB+”
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“Thanks to Tauri, the app doesn't use as much RAM as Electron-based alternatives.”
Electron replacement · 3
Several developers moved apps from Electron to Tauri and did not want to go back.
“I maintain a Tauri app. It's fine. I've not seen any reason to go back to Electron.”
“Porting over Video Hub App - my 8.5 year old app from Electron to Tauri”
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“I used to like Electron but most recently became a fan of Tauri.”
Rust plus web UI · 3
People like keeping logic in Rust while building the interface with standard web tools.
“Tauri strictly as a dumb UI with no logic.”
“building with Tauri has been a joy”
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“tauri if you still want a web ui, otherwise iced/egui and skip the browser stack”
Developer experience · 3
Building with it is described as smooth, and some shipped working apps quickly.
“building with Tauri has been a joy”
“I switched to rust + tauri. In about three person weeks of work I have UI with forking conversations”
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“I used Tauri to create a simple app for Windows and Mac. Developing the app was easy with Claude.”
Fast startup · 2
Tauri apps are reported to load quickly and feel close to native.
“We used Tauri and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.”
“So, I see that as evidence that Tauri is really solid.”
Sidecar embedding · 1
It can embed existing applications or runtimes as a sidecar in one binary.
“For me, the best about Tauri is that:”
Caveats and dissent
Webview inconsistency · 3
Using each OS's webview exposes apps to many browser versions and dated WebKit.
“tauri uses the webview of the host operating system, which means you're exposed to probably, 100+ different versions of edge, safari, webkit”
“if I use a Tauri app on Mac, I have to use dated WebKit. It's out of a Tauri developer's control.”
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“In our experience of using Tauri, it has been a significant source of compatibility and performance issues”
Linux support · 3
WebKitGTK, Wayland and glibc dependencies make Linux builds unreliable.
“So if you need good linux support now/soon i can't 100% recommend tauri (for Linux) as of now.”
“For Linux, it was an ABI nightmare”
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“using the OS's webview just doesn't work for me”
Efficiency overstated · 2
One commenter says the main saving is download size, traded for breakage risk.
“The worst thing about Tauri is people gaslighting about it being more efficient.”
“this is going to eat a lot of Tauri market. Why would I use Tauri now?”
Moving back to Electron · 3
Some developers are switching to Electron for reliability or developer experience.
“In our experience of using Tauri, it has been a significant source of compatibility and performance issues”
“Tauri is solid, but”
Show 1 more
“I have been using Tauri for a macOS app I'm making[1] and it has been great.”
Tooling gaps · 1
Playwright e2e testing and some macOS APIs are not fully supported.
“I have been using Tauri for a macOS app I'm making[1] and it has been great.”
Dependency count · 1
One Rust developer calls Tauri the worst contributor to a large dependency tree.
“tauri (gui), the last of which is by far the worst offender”
Often compared with
5 moved from Electron to Tauri
4 moved from Tauri to Electron
1 moved from Tauri to Electrobun
1 moved from Tauri to eguiDeno Desktop2 comments mention both
1 moved from Tauri to Deno Desktop
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript? 5 mentions
- Deno Desktop 4 mentions
- The Conductor Rewrite: What They Changed to Make It Fast 3 mentions
- Claude is an Electron App because we've lost native 3 mentions
- Deno 2.9 2 mentions
- Show HN: AgentEd – local-first visual Markdown editor with token counts 1 mention
Data: tauri.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 41
“built with Tauri”
“I love rust+tauri combo.”
“I've stopped using Tauri and gone with 100% egui.”
“Tauri strictly as a dumb UI with no logic.”
“Works in the browser, and desktop + Android using Tauri.”
“Porting over Video Hub App - my 8.5 year old app from Electron to Tauri”
“Tauri strictly as a dumb UI with no logic.”
“tauri uses the webview of the host operating system, which means you're exposed to probably, 100+ different versions of edge, safari, webkit”
“So, I see that as evidence that Tauri is really solid.”
“Tauri is solid, but”
“tauri if you still want a web ui, otherwise iced/egui and skip the browser stack”
“I maintain a Tauri app. It's fine. I've not seen any reason to go back to Electron.”
“I switched to rust + tauri. In about three person weeks of work I have UI with forking conversations”
“Electron to Tauri 130mb to 3mb”
“I used Tauri instead of Electron because it has a smaller footprint.”
“It’s built with Tauri, a Rust backend, React/TypeScript, SQLite, GStreamer, Whisper, OCR, and VLM processing.”
“I built it on Rust/Tauri”
“We currently use Tauri”
“For Linux, it was an ABI nightmare”
“Tauri proved to be quite problematic except when in macOS”
“I used to like Electron but most recently became a fan of Tauri.”
“there is some overlap on how I built relay plugin”
“For me, the best about Tauri is that:”
“So if you need good linux support now/soon i can't 100% recommend tauri (for Linux) as of now.”
“if I use a Tauri app on Mac, I have to use dated WebKit. It's out of a Tauri developer's control.”
“this is going to eat a lot of Tauri market. Why would I use Tauri now?”
“We used Tauri and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.”
“building with Tauri has been a joy”
“I've been using Tauri for a while and haven't run into any issues with any of the apps I've written.”
“In our experience of using Tauri, it has been a significant source of compatibility and performance issues”
“Tauri is not even remotely an appropriate answer to this question.”
“tauri (gui), the last of which is by far the worst offender”
“have a push to app workflow paired seamlessly with it via Tauri”
“Built with Tauri v2 (Rust). It’s a local ~8MB app”
“Thanks to Tauri, the app doesn't use as much RAM as Electron-based alternatives.”
“The worst thing about Tauri is people gaslighting about it being more efficient.”
“I used Tauri to create a simple app for Windows and Mac. Developing the app was easy with Claude.”
“Tauri 2, Rust backend, React/TypeScript frontend.”
“Tauri v2 over Electron: ~3MB bundle vs ~85MB, ~30MB RAM vs 200MB+”
“using the OS's webview just doesn't work for me”
“I switched to Linux and my single Tauri app was not cooperating.”